Talks  on  Manures. 


A  8F.KIFS  Itr  T  \MM.I  Ai:  AM>  rKA<    I  I'    M     I  M  K-   liK  i  >%  r  i   >    i  lif    At  TilOR 

AM»  TIIK  I»K\<  <»X.  TIIK  Ikk  T»»lt,  ASI»  CITIIKU  NKK.illUiICS,  OX 

TflK  WIKILK  KUIUICCT  or  M    Nl'llKli  ASV  rKUTlLlZKUS. 


11 Y 

JOSKIMI     IIAKKIS.     M.    S. 

moa  or    "wtLk.^    *M'    Ti:.!.-       ■•     rut    Farm,"     'UtEKIt   on    tu«    rm,"  BTn. 


N!    .-.'     AND     ENLARGED     EDITION, 

INCLUDIMO    A    CIUITKR    HI'BOIALLY     WKITTKN    FiiK    IT    HV    SIR    /OBM 
BE»>KT    I   4WI.,     Ill-    i«  iTll  tM'^i  Ki>     iNfil.ASU. 


N  K  W     V  « »  R  K  : 

OKA  \  (IK     J  ID  I)     COMPANY, 


Entered,  accordinc  to  Act  of  ronjjr'-o".  In  the  year  IfWS,  by  th« 

orancjp:  .jcdi)  companv. 

In  t>te  Ufflcu  of  tbf  Libranau  uf  Congress,  at  Wa^liinxton. 


CONTENTS. 


CllAl'TEU    L 
Faming  an  n  BnninoB?.— High  Farniiut;aiid(i<»o<l  F&nnlnK.— Sommpr-fallovr- 
ing  and  IMi  wiug  under  Clover.— Wc  must  nuiw:  larger  ("rDpe  |ht  Acre. — 
I><'Hinictiun  of  Wi-cdu.— Karining  is  Slow  Work.— It  requin!!*  PiTKonal  At- 
tcuUuu I 

CUAPTEIt    II. 

What  is"  Manure?— The  dcflnitions  givcu  by  llic  Diuou  and  the  J>(>cl<ir 19 

ClIAITER    III. 

Bometliing  alnjut  Plant  food —.\ll  cuils  on  which  pInntM  grow  contain  it.— 
The  Season. -Water,  Shade,  Light,  and  Mulch,  not  Muiiurci*.  Sevcnil  Ucf- 
LuiUouH  of  Mauurc   21 

CU  AFTER    IV. 

Na  ural  Manure.  -Accumulated  Plant  food  in  the  Soil.— Eshaut'tlon  of  the 
Soil.— Why  our  Croj  »  an-  fo  Poor.  -IIow  to  get  I>nri.'er  Crops.— We  must 
Dmiu,  Cullivulc  thoroughly,  and  Make  Richer  Manure 23 

CHAPTER    V. 
Swiimp-niuck  and  Peat  as  Manure. --Draining  Swamp-land.— Composition  of 
I'cat  and  Muck  29 

CHAPTER    VI. 

What  i.*  Potential  .Vmmonia 31 

Cn.VPTER    VU. 

Tillage  is  Manurc.—The  Doctor's  Lecture  on  Manure .32 

CUAPTER    Vlll. 
Snmmer-fallowing.— Mr.   Lawes"  crop  every  other  year.— WTicat  after  Bar- 
ley.—For  Larger  Crops  rai'e  less  frequently,   and  Manure  Higher  ;   also 
keep  better  SUKk,  and  Feed  Higher 34 

CHAPTER    IX. 
How  to  Restore  a  Wom-ont  Farm — The  Author's  Farm.— Tillage  renders  the 
Plant-food  stored  in   the  soil   available-  Cultivated   Lands  contain  less 
Plant-food,  but  are  more  productive.— Grass  alone  will  not  make  rich  land.  37 

CHAPTER    X. 

How  to  Make  Manure.— We  must  get  it  out  of  the  Land 41 

CHAPTER    XI. 

The  Value  of  the  Manure  depends  upon  the  Food— rot  upon  the  Animal 43 

CHAPTER    Xn. 
Foods  which  Make  Rich  Manure— Table  giving  the  composition  of  81  kinds 
of  Food  and  the  value  of  the  Manure  they  yield.— Cotton  seed  Cake.— 
Enirlish  and  fierman  Clover— Nitrogenoui^  matter  in  Rich  and  Poor  Foods.— 
Manure  from  Corn  compared  with  that  from  Straw 45 

III 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Ilorsc-manure  and  Farm-yard  Manure— Why  the  one  is  richi-r  than  the  oth- 
er.- Amount  of  Manure  from  a  Horse.— Composition  of  Farm-yard  Ma- 
nure.—We  draw  and  spread  a  ton  to  get  33  lbs.  of  Nilrogeu,  I'hospboric 
Acid,  and  Potash 50 

CUAPTEK    XIV. 
Fermenting  Manure.— Composition  of  Manure  when  Fresh  and  in  its  stages 
of  Fermentation.  -Loss  in  Fermeut'itiou  and  from  Leaching.  -Tables  show- 
ing the  composition  of  .Manure  at  different  stages.— Fermenting  makes 
Manure  more  Soluble 53 

CIIAITER    XV'. 
Keeping  Miinun-  under  Cover— Dr.  Virlckirs  E.xpirimenta.- Manure  Fer- 
m.nt.d  Outside  and  Under  Cover.— L<>>M  from  keeping  .Manure  s|)read  in 
the  Ham  yard.  -Keeping  well-njtted  .Manure  iu  a  Heap.— Conclusions  from 
Dr.  VuL'lcker's  Experiments 59 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

An  English  Plan  of  Keepini,'  Manure.  Ik)s  feeding  of  Cattle.- Spreading 
Manure  at  once.  Piling  in  Heaps  in  the  Field  -Old  Sods  ai  d  Asli.  ;<  from 
CharredSodH •  <j9 

CHAI'TER    XVII. 
Soluble  Phosphates  in  Farm  yard  Manure.  — Fermented,  the  Manure  has  the 
most.— Over  HI  per  cent,  of  the  Phosphoric  Acid  i.-  .Soluble  72 

CHAPTER    XVU\. 

How  the  Deacon  makes  Manure. —A  good  plan  for  making  poor  Manure 74 

CHAI»TER  XIX. 
How  John  Johnston  Manages  His  Manure.  Summer-fallows  for  Wheat- 
Does  not  plow  under  ("lover.  Value  of  .Manure  from  different  foods.— 
Piling  Manure.  Applies  .Manure  to  Grassland  in  Fall,  and  Plows  under  in 
S|iriiix'  for  Corn.— His  success  due  to  the  Eflect  of  Manure  on  Grass —It 
brought  in  Red  Clover 76 

CHAPTER    XX. 

The  Author's  Plan  of  Maua^'ing  Manure.— Pllvs  as  fast  as  it  is  Made.— What 
it  is  Made  of.— Hc.rse  and  Cow  Manure  Tou'ellier.— Horse  Manure  for  Bed- 
ding Pigs.— To  Prevent  Freezinir.- Litpiid  Manure  from  Pi-s.-Beddin? 
Shep. -Piling  in  the  Field.— Where  the  Piles  should  be  Ma'le— Manure  in 

^  a  Basin.- Reasons  for  Piling.— What  we  Gain  by  Fermcntini:  Manure  83 

CHAPTER    XXT. 

M.iii.igenient  Continued. -Why  We  Ferment  Manure.-Dr  Vrelcker's  Experi- 
menis  showin'.;  the  Loss  when  Manure  is  spread  in  Y.irds— Fermenting 
adds  Nothing  to  Manure,  but  mnkes  ir  more  available.- Mr.  Lawes'  Experi- 
ments on  Wheat  an.l  Biiley.— Dr.  Vreleker's  Resntts.— Ellwan-er  *  Barry's 
Experience.— Loss  of  Ammonia  by  Fermentin-.'.— Waste  from  Leaching.- 
How  to  Save  the  Liquid  Manure  from  Cows »4 

CHAPTER    XXn. 

Manure  on  Dairy  Farms.— Wheat  removes  much  moreNitroL'en  than  Cheese- 
Manures  for  Dairy  Farms.— Letter  from  Hon.  Harris  Lewis.— How  to  make 
niore  and  better  Manure  oi,  Dairy  Farms.— How  to  save  and  apj)ly  it.— Let- 
ter from  T.  L.  narison,  Etq 101 


CONTENTS.  V 

CIIAITEU    XXIII. 
Manayeiiu'iil  i>f  Maiiurcu  on  tiraiii  Karms.— Li'Ucr  from  lion.  Geo.  Qeddes. — 
linim  on  Dairy  Farni.-<.— Snci'it  on  Gru  ii  Kaiuif.  — Vifll  to  John  Jolin^lon. — 
Mr.  Lawcs'  Wlical-Iichl.— Mr.  Godilcs  unil  Clover. — G^|iruuiuud  Clover  us 
Maniirc;i Ill 

CUAITEU    XXIV. 
The  Clieapest  Muniiru  a  Furnier  cuu    use — Clover  vt*.  Tillatjc. — As  I'lunt- 
KiHHl. — Ctiiisiiuioiiis  ofa  Crop  of  Clov*  r,  as  coniparcu  with  one  of  Wheal. — 
Making  a  Farm  Kali  by  Growui;,'  Clover  127 

CllAriEK    XXV. 
Dr.  Voelckur's  Experinient-x  on   Clover.— Luwes  and  Gilberts  on   Wheat.— 
CUiver  Uoots  per  Acre.— Manures  lor  Wheat.— Liebi;;'s  Manure  Theory. — 
Peruvian  Ciiiano  on  Wheat.— Manures  and  the  (|iialily  of  Wheat.— Anunonia. 
—Ovjr  00  Bushels  of  Wheat    o  the  Acre 135 

CUAPTEIt    XXVI. 
Experiments  oD  Clover  Soils  from  Biircoii  Lo<l:;<-  Farm,  Lel<^liton  Buzzard. — 
Soil  from   Part  of  ll-atre  Field   twice  .Mown  lor  Hay.— Soil   from  do.  once 
Mown  for  Hay  ami  left  for  Se.-d.— -Vmount  of  Roots  left  in  the  Soil  by  differ- 
ent Crop!i.— Manures  for  Wheat 149 

CHAPTER    XX\TL 

Lawo?  and  Gilbert's  Experiment*  on  Wheat. — Most  Valiiabli-  and  Instrtietivc 
Tallies  now  llrst  made  accessible  to  tin-  .American  Farmer. — The  <;rowlh  of 
Wheat  Year  !iftor  Year  on  the  same  Land,  niimuniireil,  with  Farm-yard  Ma- 
nure, and  with  various  Organic  and  Inori^anic  Feriilizors 170 

CHAPTER    XX^'III. 

Lime  as  a  Mannro.— Prof.  Way'<  Experiments. — Tlic  uses  of  Lime  in  the 
Soil.— Lime  in  this  Country.- Composts  with  Lime * 215 

CHAPTER    XXTX. 
Manures  for  Bjirley.— Coni)>o  it'Oii  of  Rtrli-y,  umin  nnd  straw. — Va'nable  Ta- 
bles ^ivini:  the  Results  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  Experiments  on  the  j;rowth 
of  Biirley.  Year  after  Year,  on  the  same  Land,  witlmnt  Manure,  and  with 
different  kinds  of  Manure. — Manure  ami  Rotation  of  Crops  2*37 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
Manures  for  Oat?.— Experiments  at   Rottiamsted.— Experiments  of  Mr.  Bath 
of  Virginia.- .\t  Moreton  Farm 2.'j2 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Manures  for  Potatoes.- P.rtivirin  Giiniio  for  Pulntoes.— Manure  from  different 
Foods.— Kperimeiifs  at  Moretoii  F.inn.— Mr.  Hunter's  Experiments 255 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 
What  Crops  should   Manure   be  .Vpplicvl   to  ?— How.  and   When  ?— .John  J. 
Thomas'  manner  of  Applyiii'.:  Manure.— Top  Dressing.— Doct.  Voelcker's 
Experiments 265 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
Manures  on  Permanent  Meadows  and  Pastures.— Experiments  at  Rotham8tcd.271 


VI  CONTENTS. 

(IIAITIJK     XXXIV. 
Manures  for  Special  Crops.— Hops.— Inaian  Corn.— Turnips.— Mangel-Wurzel 
or  buiiar-Bocib.— Cal)ba;,'i;:',  l*ar.-nip8.  Lettuce,  Onions:,  etc 274 

ClIAPTEIt    XXXV. 

Manures  for  Gardens  and  Orcliur.lti.— .Maikci  Oarileus.-Sceil -rowin:;  Furma. 
— Private  Cari]en:'.—lIol-be(ls.— Manure  for  Nurrtcryiiien.— Fruit  tirowers! 
— Ueu-Munuru    \)ni 

vn.WTER    XXXVI. 
Different  Kimlsof  Manures.— Cow  Manure.— Slieep  Manure.— Buying  Manure. 
—Liquid  .Manure.— Ni-liL-oil  and  Sewa-c.— Peruvian  Guano.-SaUs  of  Am- 
monia and  Nitrate  of  Soda g^Uj 

CHAITEU    XXXVI L 
Bone-Duel  and  Snp.rpliosphaie  of  Lime.— Bone  fiirnls'liC!.  Nitrogen  as  well  as 
Phospliaie  of  Lime.— Increasing  the  Availal)iliiy  of  Hone  willi  Sulphuric 
Acid .,]  J 

CHAPTER    XXXVIIL 

Special  Manures.- Liel)ig'a  Views.- Special  Manure  for  Whc.it  and  Turnips. 
— Rolhamsted  Expcrinient.s tHO 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 
Value  of  Fcrlilizers.— Cost  per  pound  of  the  Essential  ConstitnentH  of  Ferti- 
lizers.—Value  of  fJuanos.—Poiash  as  a  Manure .T2-1 

CHAPTER    XL. 

ReBtoring  Fertility  to  the  Soil,  a  Chapter  hy  Sir  John  Bmnet  Jjtwes.-Tho 
Treatment  of  a  Poor  Farm,  to  Restore  it  must  Profitably.  Meal-making 
the  Back  hone  of  the  Sy-!t<m.  -The  Ise  of  Sh.-cp  to  Manure  the  Soil.— 
The  Feeding  of  Ci#ton-seed  Cake.— Artifleial  Manure-  nn^  Pnifltahle  on 
Poor  Land. — The  Loss  of  Nitrogen.— The  Fomiatiun  of  Nitric  Acid .•H2 

APPENDIX. 
Letter  from  Edward  .Tessop.— From  Dr.  E.  h.  Siiirti-vaiit.- From  M.  C.  Weld. 
—From   Peter  Iliiidirson.— From  J.  B.  M.  Anderson.— Manure  Slalislira  of 
Long  Island.— Letter  from  .1.  II.  Rushniore.— Letter  from  John  E.  Biickim. 
— Manure  in  Philadelphia.— Various  other  Letters S33 


INTRODUCTION    TO    NEW  AND    ENI^VRfJED    EDITION. 


Sir  John  Bonnot  I-iwis  kin<lly  consentetl  to  write  a  Chapter 
for  th«'  nrw  «(liti<m  of  tliis  work.  Th«'  EK'JU'on,  the  I)(Ktor,  tlie 
S«iuin'.  Charli.-  iin<l  inysrlf  all  ft-lt  tlatt«TiMl  ami  soint'wliat 
hiishful  at  tiiuiiiiK  «>iirs<Iv('s  in  such  distiiiKuishcil  roiiipaiiy.  I 
lUHil  not  sjiy  tliat  tills  new  Cliapti-r  from  tlu-  jx-n  of  tht-  most 
eminent  F^iikMsIi  a^,'ri(•ultural  investiKator  is  worthy  of  a  very 
cari'ful  stuily.  I  liave  nad  it  ajxaiu  and  aK:«iii.  an<l  eaeh 
time  with  gnat  ami  u'mwfd  interest.  I  couM  wish  there  wji3 
more  of  it.  But  to  tlu'  iutelli>c«-nt  and  well-informed  reader 
this  Chapter  will  he  valu«d  not  merely  for  what  it  contains,  but 
for  what  it  omits.  A  man  wluj  knew  Kss  would  write  more. 
Sir  John  K'h-s  strai}?ht  to  tin-  mark,  and  we  have*  here  his 
matun-  vi<ws  on  on»-  «>f  the  most  inqiortant  questions  in 
ajxrieultural   science   and   priwtice. 

Sir  John  (K'scHIms  a  tni<t  <>f  jMHir  land,  and  tells  us  that  the 
cheap^'st  nuthiMl  of  improving  ami  eiiricliing  it  is.  to  keep  a 
large  hreeiling  fl<M-k  of  sheep,  and  fee<l  them  American  cotton- 
seed cake.  We  are  i)l<a.seti  to  find  that  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  general  teaching  of  our  "Talks,"  as  given  in  this  book 
several  years  ag<i. 

When  this  work  was  first  published,  sotne  of  my  friends 
expressed  surprise  that  I  did  not  recommend  the  more  <  xtende<l 
use  of  artificial  manures.  One  thing  is  certain,  since  that  time 
the  use  of  sup^Tjihosphate  has  Ix-en  greatly  on  the  increase. 
And  it  seems  clear  that  its  use  must  l>e  j»r<»fitable.  Where  I 
live,  in  West<'m  New  York,  it  is  sown  quite  generally  on  winter 
wheat,  and  also  on  barlej'  and  oats  in  the  spring.  On  com  and 
potatoes,  its  use  is  not  so  common.  Whether  this  is  because 
its  application  to  these  crops  is  not  so  easy,  or  because  it  does 
not  pHMluce  so  marked  an  increase  in  the  yield  per  acre,  I  am 
unable  to  say. 

Our  winter  wheat  is  sown  here  the  first,  second,  or  (rarely) 
the  third  week  in  Septemlx^r.  We  sow  from  one  and  a  half  to 
two  3.nd  a  quarter  bushels  per  acre.  It  is  almost  invariably 
sown  with  a  drill.  The  drill  has  a  fertilizer  attachment  that 
distributes  the  superjjhosphate  at  the  same  time  the  wheat  is 
(VII) 


VIII  TALKS   OX   MAXTJRES. 

sown.  The  superphosphate  is  not  mixed  with  the  wheat,  but 
it  drops  into  the  saiue  tubes  witli  the  wheat,  and  is  sown  witli 
it  in  the  same  drill  mai  k.  In  this  way,  the  supei-jihospliale  is 
deposited  wliere  the  roots  of  the  young  plants  can  immediately 
find  it.     For  barley  and  oats  the  same  method  is  adopted. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  sowing  superphosphate  on 
these  crops  is  merely  nominal.  But  for  corn  and  potatoes, 
when  planted  in  hills,  the  superphosphate  must  be  dropped  in 
the  hill  by  hand,  and,  as  we  are  almost  always  hurried  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  we  are  impatient  at  anything  which  will 
delay  planting  even  for  a  daj'.     The  boys  want  to  go  fishing  ! 

This  is,  undoubtedl}-,  one  reason  why  superphosi>hate  is  not 
lised  so  generally  with  us  for  com  as  for  wheat,  barley,  and 
oats.  Another  reason  may  be,  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  corn 
will  not  sell  for  anything  like  as  much  as  one  hundred  pounds 
of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats. 

We  are  now  buying  a  very  good  superphosphate,  made  from 
Carolina  rock  jjhosphate,  for  about  one  and  a  half  cents  per 
pound.  We  usually  drill  in  about  two  hundred  pounds  per  acre 
at  a  cost  of  three  dollars.  Now,  if  this  gives  us  an  increase  of  five 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  worth  six  dollars,  we  think  it  pays. 
It  often  does  far  better  than  this.  Last  year  the  wheat  crop 
of  Western  New  York  was  the  best  in  a  third  of  a  century, 
which  is  as  far  back  as  I  have  had  anything  to  do  with  farming 
here.  Fi  cm  all  I  can  learn,  it  is  doiibtf ul  if  the  wheat  crop  of 
Western  New  York  has  ever  averaged  a  larger  yield  per  acre 
since  the  land  was  first  cultivated  after  the  removal  of  the 
original  f on  st.  Something  of  this  is  due  to  better  methods  of 
cultivation  and  tillage,  and  something,  doubtless,  to  the 
general  use  of  superphosphate,  but  much  more  to  the  favor- 
able season. 

The  present  venr  our  wheat  crop  turned  out  exceedingly  poor. 
Hundreds  of  acres  of  wheat  were  plowed  up,  and  the  land  re- 
sown,  and  hundreds  more  would  have  been  plowed  up  ha<i  it 
not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  land  was  seeded  with  timothy 
grass  at  the  time  of  sowing  the  wheat,  and  with  clover  in  the 
spring.     We  do  not  like  to  lose  our  grass  and  clover. 

Dry  weather  in  the  autumn  was  the  real  cause  of  tlie  poor 
yield  of  wheat  this  year.  True,  we  had  a  very  trying  winter, 
and  a  still  more  trying  spring,  followed  by  dry,  cold  weather. 
The  season  was  very  backward.  We  wci.'  not  able  to  sow  any- 
thing in  the  fields  before  the  first  of  May,  and  our  wheat 
ought  to  have  been  ready  to  harvest  in  July.      On  the  first 


INTRODUCTIOX   TO   XEAV    EniTTON".  IX 

of  May,  many  of  our  whcat-lk-lds,  osprciully  on  clay   laud, 
l<K)ke(i  as  bare  as  a  naked   fallow. 

There  was  here  and  then-,  a  good  field  of  wheat.  As  a  nde.  it 
was  on  naturally  moist  land, or  after  a  good  summer-fallow, sown 
early.  I  know  of  but  one  exception.  A  neighboring  nursery 
firm  had  a  very  promising  field  of  wheat,  which  was  sown  latt\ 
But  their  land  is  rich  and  uimsually  well  worked.  It  is.  in  fact, 
in  the  very  highest  condition,  and.  though  sown  late,  the  young 
plants  were  enabled  to  make  a  good  strong  growth  in  the 
autumn. 

In  such  a  dry  season,  the  great  point  is,  to  get  the  seed  to 
germinate,  and  to  furnish  sufficient  moisture  and  food  to  enable 
the  young  plimts  to  make  a  strong,  vigorous  growth  of  roots  in 
the  autumn.  I  do  not  say  that  two  hundred  pounds  of  super- 
l)hosphate  per  acre,  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  will  always  accom- 
I)lish  this  object.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  a  great  help.  It  does 
not  furnish  the  nitrogen  which  the  wheat  requires,  but  if  it  will 
stimulate  the  production  of  roots  in  the  early  autunm.  the 
plants  will  be  much  more  likely  to  find  a  sufficient  supply  of 
nitrogen  in  the  soil  than  pl:ints  with  fewer  and  smaller  roots. 

In  a  season  like  the  past,  therefore,  an  application  of  two 
hundred  pounds  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  costing  three  dol- 
lars, instead  of  giving  an  increase  of  five  or  six  bushels  per 
acre,  may  give  us  an  increase  of  fifteen  or  twenty  bushels  per 
acre.  That  is  to  say,  owing  to  the  dry  weather  in  the  autumn, 
followed  by  severe  weather  in  the  winter,  the  w^eak  plants  on 
the  unmanured  land  may  either  be  killed  out  altogether,  or 
injured  to  such  an  extent  that  the  crop  is  hardly  worth  har- 
vesting, wliile  the  wheat  where  the  phosphate  was  sown  may 
give  us  almost  an  average  crop. 

Sir  John  B.  Lawes  has  somewhere  compared  the  owner  of 
land  to  the  owner  of  a  coal  mine.  The  owner  of  the  coal  digs 
it  and  gets  it  to  market  in  the  best  way  he  can.  The  farmer's 
coal  mine  consists  of  plant  food,  and  the  object  of  the  farmer 
is  to  get  this  food  into  such  plants,  or  such  parts  of  plants,  as 
his  customers  require.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  for  the  owner 
of  the  coal  mine  to  trouble  his  head  about  the  exhaustion  of 
the  supply  of  coal.  His  true  plan  is  to  dig  it  as  econcrai- 
cally  as  he  can,  and  get  it  into  market.  There  is  a  good  deal 
of  coal  in  the  world,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  plant  food  in 
the  earth.  As  long  a?  the  plant  food  lies  dormant  in  the  soil, 
it  is  of  no  value  to  man.  The  object  of  the  farmer  is  to  con- 
vert it  into  products  which  man  and  animals  require. 


X  TALKS   ON   MANUKES. 

Mining  for  coal  is  a  very  simple  matter,  but  how  l«est  to  get 
the  greatest  quantity  of  plant  food  out  of  the  soil,  withtlie  least 
waste  and  the  greatest  fjroftt,  is  a  much  more  complex  and 
difficult  task.  Plant  food  consists  of  a  dozen  or  more  dilferent 
substances.  We  have  talked  about  thom  in  the  i)ages  of  this 
l)Ook,  and  all  I  wisli  to  say  here  is  that  some  of  them  are  much 
more  abundant,  and  more  readily  obtained,  than  others.  Tiie 
three  substances  most  difficult  to  get  at  arc:  nitric  acid,  phos- 
phovic  acid  and  potash.  All  these  substances  are  in  the  soil, 
but  some  soils  contain  much  more  than  othei*s,  and  tht-ir  rela- 
tive proportion  varies  considerably.  The  substance  which  is  of 
till'  greatest  importance,  is  nitric  acid.  As  a  rule,  the  fertility 
of  a  soil  is  in  proportion  to  tlie  amount  of  nitric  acid  which 
betcomes  availal)le  for  tlie  use  of  plants  during  the  growing 
season.  Many  of  our  soils  contain  large  (juantities  of  nitrogen, 
united  with  carbon,  but  tlie  iihmts  do  not  take  it  up  in  this 
form.  It  has  to  be  converted  into  nitric  aeid.  Nitric  acid  con- 
sists of  seven  ])oiinds  of  nitrogen  and  twenty  jioumls  of 
oxygen.  It  is  produced  by  the  comlmstion  of  nitrogen.  Since 
these  "Talks"  were  published,  several  important  facts  have  Imvu 
discovered  in  regard  to  how  plants  take  up  nitrogen,  and  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  how  organic  nitrogen  is  converte<l  into 
nitric  acid.  It  is  brought  about  through  the  action  of  a  minute 
fungoid  plant.  Therj  are  several  things  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  this  plant.  "We  must  have  some  nitrogenous  8ul>- 
stance,  a  moderate  degree  of  heat,  say  from  seventy  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  <legrees,  a  moderate  amount  of  moisture, 
and  plenty  of  oxygen.  Shade  is  also  favorable.  If  too  hi>t  or 
too  cold,  or  too  wet  or  too  dry,  the  growth  of  the  plant  is 
checked,  and  the  formation  of  nitric  acid  suspended.  The 
presence  of  lime,  or  of  some  alkali,  is  also  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  this  fungus  and  the  production  of  nitric  acid.  The 
nitric  acid  unites  with  the  lime,  and  forms  nitrate  of  lime,  or 
with  soda  to  form  nitrate  of  soda,  o/  with  potash  to  form 
nitrate  of  potash,  or  salt-petre.  A  water-logged  soil,  by  exclud- 
ing the  oxytren,  destroys  this  plant,  hence  one  of  the  advan- 
tages of  underdraining.  I  have  said  that  shade  is  favorable  to 
the  growth  of  this  fungus,  and  this  fact  explains  and  confirms 
the  common  idea  that  shafle  is  manure. 

The  great  object  of  agriculture  is  to  convert  the  nitrogen  of 
our  soils,  or  of  green  crops  plowed  under,  or  of  manure,  into 
nitric  acid,  and  then  to  convert  this  nitric  acid  into  profitable 
products  with  as  little  loss  as  possible.     Nitrogen,  or  rather 


INTROnrCTIOX   TO    N'KW    KDITIOX.  XI 

nitric  aoitl,  is  tlio  most  costly  iiij^rciliml  in  i»I;iiit  fooil,  and  un- 
fortunately it  is  v»  ry  ojvsily  wiuslitnl  out  of  tin'  soil  and  lost. 
Perhaps  it  is  aWsolutoly  inii>ossil)k'  to  entirely  prevent  all  loss 
from  leaching;  but  it  is  certainly  well  worth  our  while  t<5  under- 
stand the  subject,  and  t<j  know  exactly  what  wc  are,  doing.  In 
a  new  country,  where  land  is  clieap,  it  may  l)e  more  profitable 
to  raise  as  large  crops  as  iK)ssible  witlntut  any  regard  to  the 
loss  of  nitric  acid.  Hut  this  comlition  of  things  does  not  last 
long,  and  it  very  soon  becomes  desirable  to  adopt  less  w;usteful 
processes. 

In  Lawe-;  and  ( rilbert's  experiments,  ther.' is  a  great  loss  of 
nitric  acid  from  drainage.  In  no  case  luus  as  much  nitrogen 
been  obtained  in  the  increased  croi)  ;ls  was  ap[)lied  in  the  ma- 
nure. There  is  always  a  loss  and  probably  always  will  be.  But 
we  should  do  all  we  can  t  >  make  the  'oss  as  small  as  possible, 
consistent  with  the  production  of  profitable  crops. 

There  are  many  ways  of  lessening  this  loss  of  nitrie  acid.  Our 
farmers  sow  superphosphate  with  their  wheat  in  the  autumn, 
ami  this  stimulat<s.  we  think,  the  growtli  of  roots,  which 
ramify  in  all  directions  through  the  soil.  This  increased 
growth  of  root  brings  the  plant  in  contact  with  a 
larger  feeding  surface,  and  enables  it  to  take  up  more  nitric 
acid  from  its  solution  in  the  soil.  Sich  is  also  the  case  during 
the  winter  and  early  spring,  when  a  good  deal  of  water  iter- 
meates  through  the  soil.  The  application  of  superphosphate, 
unquestionably  in  many  cases,  prevents  much  Vr)ss  of  nitric  acid. 
It  does  this  by  giviiig  us  a  much  greater  growth  of  wheat. 

I  was  at  Rothamsted  in  1^79,  and  witn(^ssed  the  injurious 
effect  of  an  excessive  rainfall,  in  wasliing  out  of  the  soil 
nitrate  of  soda  and  salts  of  aTumonia,  which  were  sown  with 
the  wheat  in  the  autumn.  It  was  an  exceedingly  wet  season, 
and  the  loss  of  nitrates  f)n  all  the  different  plots  was  very  great. 
But  where  the  nitrates  or  salts  of  ammonia  were  sown  in  the 
spring,  while  the  crops  were  growing,  the  loss  was  not  nearly 
so  great  as  when  sown  in  the  autumn. 

The  sight  of  that  wheat  field  impressed  me,  as  nothing  else 
could,  with  the  importance  of  guarding  against  the  loss  of 
available  nitrogen  from  leaching,  and  it  has  changed  my  prac- 
tice in  two  or  three  important  respects.  I  realize,  as  never  be- 
fore, the  importance  of  applying  manure  to  crops,  rather  than 
to  the  land.  I  mean  by  this,  that  the  object  of  applying  ma- 
nure is,  not  simply  to  make  land  rich,  but  to  make  crops  grow. 
Manure  is  a  costly  and  valuable  article,  and  we  want  to  convert 


XII  TALKS   OX   MANURES. 

it  into  plants,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  which  will,  di- 
rectly or  iudirectlj^,  bring  in  some  money. 

Our  climate  is  very  diflferent  from  that  of  England.  As  a 
rule,  we  seldom  have  enough  rain,  from  the  time  corn  is  planted 
until  it  is  harvested,  to  more  than  saturate  the  ground  on  our 
upland  soils.  This  year  is  an  exception.  On  Sunday  night, 
May  20,  1883,  we  had  a  northeast  storm  which  continued  three 
days.  During  these  three  days,  fri)m  three  to  five  inches  of 
rain  fell,  and  for  tlie  first  tim?  in  many  years,  at  this  season,  my 
underdrains  discharged  water  to  their  full  capacity.  Had 
nitrate  of  soda  been  sown  on  bare  hind  previous  to  this  rain, 
much  of  it  would,  doubtless,  have  been  lost  by  leaching.  This, 
however,  is  an  exceptional  case.  My  underdrains  usually  do 
not  commence  to  disc:iarg.>  water  before  the  first  of  December, 
or  continue  later  than  the  first  of  May.  To  guard  against  loss 
of  nitrogen  by  leaching,  therefore,  we  should  aim  to  keep  rich 
land  occupied  by  some  crop,  during  the  winter  and  early 
spring,  and  the  earlier  the  crop  is  sown  in  the  autumn  or  late 
summer,  the  better,  so  that  the  roots  will  the  more  completely 
fill  the  grouml  and  take  up  all  the  availai)le  nitrogen  within 
their  reach.  I  have  said  that  this  idea  had  modified  my  own 
practic(>.  I  grow  a  considerable  quantity  of  garden  vegitables, 
principally  for  seed.  It  is  necessary  to  make  the  land  very 
rich.  The  plan  I  have  adopted  to  guard  against  the  loss  of 
nitrogen  is  this  :  As  soon  as  the  land  is  cleared  of  any  crop, 
after  it  is  too  late  to  sow  turnips,  I  sow  it  with  rye  at  the  rate 
of  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels  per  acre.  On  tliis  rich  land, 
especially  on  the  moist  low  land,  the  rye  makes  a  great 
growth  during  our  warm  autumn  weather.  Tlie  rye  checks 
the  growth  of  weeds,  and  furnishes  a  considerable  amount  of 
succulent  food  for  sheep,  durijig  the  autumn  or  in  the  spring. 
If  not  needed  for  food,  it  can  be  turned  under  in  the  spring  for 
manure.  It  unquestionably  prevents  the  loss  of  considerable 
nitric  acid  from  leaching  during  the  winter  and  early  spring. 

Buckwheat,  or  millet,  is  sometimes  sown  on  such  land  for 
plowing  under  as  manure,  but  as  these  crops  are  killed  out  by 
the  winter,  they  cannot  prevent  the  loss  of  nitric  acid  during 
the  winter  and  spring  months.  It  is  only  on  unusuallj'  rich 
land  that  such  precautions  are  particularl}'  necessary.  It  has 
been  thought  that  these  experiments  of  Lawes  and  GillxTt 
affcn-d  a  strong  argument  against  the  use  of  summer-fallows. 
I  do  not  think  so.  A  summer-fallow,  in  this  country,  is  usu- 
ally a  piece  of  land  which  has  been  seeded  down  one,  two,  and 


INTR0J)UCTION    TO    NEW    EDITION.  XIIT 

sometimes  three  years,  with  red  clover.  The  land  is  plowed  in 
May  or  June,  and  occasionally  in  July,  and  is  afterwards  sown 
to  winter  wheat  in  Septenil)er.  The  treatment  of  the  suinnier- 
fallow  varies  in  ditferent  localities  and  on  different  farms. 

Sometimes  the  land  is  only  plowed  once.  The  clover,  or  sod, 
is  plowed  under  de<"p  and  well,  and  the  after-treatment  con- 
sists in  keepiTig  tlie  surface  soil  free  from  weeds,  by  the  fre- 
quent use  of  tiie  harrow,  roller,  cultivator  or  gang-pk)w.  In 
otluT  cases,  especially  on  heavy  clay  land,  the  first  plowing  is 
done  early  in  the  spring,  and  when  the  sod  is  sufficiently 
rotted,  the  land  is  cross-plowed,  and  afterwards  made  tine  and 
mellow  by  the  use  of  the  roller,  harrow,  and  cultivator.  Just 
bef(jre  sowing  the  wheat,  many  good,  old-fashioned  fanners, 
plow  the  land  again.  But  in  this  section,  a  summer- fallow, 
plowed  two  or  three  times  during  the  smumer,  is  becoming 
more  an«l  more  rare  every  year. 

Those  farmers  who  summer-fallow  at  all,  as  a  rule,  plow  their 
liuid  but  once,  and  content  themselves  with  mere  surface  culti- 
vation afterwards.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  also,  that  summer 
fallows  of  all  kinds  are  by  no  means  as  common  as  formerly. 
This  fact  may  be  considered  an  argument  against  the  use  of 
sunnner-fallowing;  but  it  is  not  conclusive  in  my  mind.  Patient 
waiting  is  not  a  characteristic  of  the  age.  We  are  inclined  to 
take  risks.  We  prefer  to  sow  our  land  to  oats,  or  barley,  and 
run  the  chance  of  getting  a  good  wheat  crop  after  it,  rather 
than  to  spend  several  months  in  cleaning  and  mellowing  the 
land,  simply  to  grow  one  crop  of  wheat. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  entirely  unnecessary  to  iirge 
farmers  not  to  summer-fallow.  We  all  naturally  prefer  to  see 
the  land  occupied  b\'  a  good  paying  crop,  rather  than  to  spend 
time,  monej-,  and  labor,  in  preparing  it  to  produce  a  crop  twelve 
or  fifteen  months  afterwards.  Yet  some  of  the  agricultural  edi- 
tors and  many  of  the  agricultural  writers,  seem  to  take  delight 
in  deriding  the  old-fashioned  summer-fallow.  The  fact  that 
Lawes  and  Gilbert  in  England  find  that,  when  land  contains 
considerable  nitric  acid,  the  water  which  percolates  through 
the  soil  to  the  underdrains  beneath,  contains  more  nitrate  of 
lime  when  the  land  is  not  occupied  by  a  croj),  than  when  the 
roots  of  growing  plants  fill  the  soil,  is  deemed  positive  proof 
that  suimner-fallowing  is  a  wastefiil  practice. 

If  we  summer-fallowed  for  a  spring  crop,  as  I  have  some- 
times done,  it  is  quite  probable  that  there  would  be  a  loss  of 
nitrogen.     But,  as  I  have  said  before,  it  is  very  seklom  that  any 


XIV  TALKS   OX    MANURES. 

water  passes  through  the  soil  from  tlio  time  we  commence  <4  > 
summer-fallow  until  the  wheat  is  sown  in  the  autumn,  or  foi 
many  weeks  afterwards.  The  nitrogen,  which  is  converted 
into  nitric  acid  by  the  agency  of  a  good  summer-fallow,  is  no 
more  liable  to  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  after  tlie  field  is  sown 
to  whf-at  in  the  autumn,  than  if  we  applied  the  nitrogen  in  the 
form  of  some  reiulily  availaljle  manure. 

I  still  believe  in  summer  fallows.  If  I  had  my  life  to  live 
over  again,  I  would  certainly  summer-fallow  more  than  I  have 
done.  I  have  been  an  agricultural  writer  for  onc-tliird  of  a 
century,  and  liave  i)ersistently  advocated  the  more  extendt-d 
use  of  the  summer-fallow.  I  have  nothing  to  take  back,  unless 
it  is  what  I  have  said  in  reference  to  "  fall-fallowing."  Possibly 
this  practice  may  result  in  loss,  though  I  do  not  think  so. 

A  good  summer-fallow,  on  rather  heavy  clay  land,  if  the  con- 
ditions are  otherwise  favorable,  is  pretty  sure  to  give  us  a  good 
crop  of  wheat,  and  a  good  crop  of  clover  and  grass  afterwards. 
Of  course,  a  farmer  who  has  nice,  clean  sandy  soil,  will  not 
think  of  summer-fallowing  it.  Such  soils  are  easily  worked, 
and  it  is  not  a  diff^ult  matter  to  keep  them  clean  without 
Bummer-fallowinc:.  Such  soils,  liowever,  seldom  contain  a 
large  store  of  unavailable  plant  food,  and  instead  of  summer- 
fallowing,  we  had  better  manure.  On  such  soils  artificial  ma- 
nures are  often  very  i)rofitable,  though  barn-yard  manure,  or 
the  droppings  of  animals  feeding  on  the  land,  should  be  the 
prime  basis  of  all  attempts  to  maintain,  or  increase,  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  such  .soils. 

Since  this  book  was  firet  published,  I  do  not  know  of  any  new 
facts  in  regard  to  the  important  question  of.  how  l>est  to 
manage  and  apply  our  barn-yard  manure,  so  as  to  make  it  more 
immediately  active  and  available.  It  is  unquestionably  true, 
tliat  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen  in  barn-yard  maiuire,  will 
not  produce  so  great  an  effect  as  its  theoretical  value  would  in- 
dicate. Tliere  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  better  we 
feed  our  animals,  and  the  more  carefully  we  save  the  liquids, 
the  more  valuable  and  active  will  be  the  manure. 

The  conversion  of  the  inert  nitrogen  of  manures  and  soils, 
into  nitric  acid,  as  already  stated,  is  now  known  to  l>e  produced 
by  a  minute  fungus.  I  hope  it  will  be  found  that  we  can  intro- 
duce tills  iKH'tcriitm  into  our  manure  piles,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
greatly  aid  the  ccmversion  of  inert  nitrogen  into  nitrates. 

Experiments  have  been  made,  and  are  still  continued,  at 
Woburu,  under  the  auspices   of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 


INTUODUCTIOX   T<)    NEW    KDITION.  XV 

of  England,  to  asccrtaiii,  riinon;^  dtlicr  thiiiL^s,  wlnthi  r  manure 
from  slu'ip  rtiriviii)^  an  allowance  of  cotton-sted  cake  is  any 
richt  r  than  that  from  sheep,  otherwise  fed  alike,  but  liaviug, 
instead  »,f  cotton-seed  cake,  tlie  same  amount  of  corn  meal.  We 
know  that  such  manure  contains  more  nitrogen,  and  oilier 
plant  fcMMl,  than  that  from  the  corn  meal.  But  the  exjH-riments 
so  far.  tiiough  they  have  ln-en  continued  for  several  years,  do 
not  show  any  striking  superiority  of  the  manure  from  cott(m- 
seed  cake  over  that  from  corn  meal.  I  saw  the  wheat  on  these 
differently  manured  plots  in  1879.  Dr.  Voelcker  and  Dr.  Gil- 
bert, told  me  tliat,  one  of  two  plots  was  dressed  with  the  cot- 
ton-seed manure,  and  the  other  with  the  corn  meal  manure, 
and  they  wanted  me  to  say  which  was  the  most  promising 
crop.  I  Ix'liive  the  one  I  s;ud  w;is  the  l)etter,  was  the  cotton- 
seed plot.  But  the  ditf.rence  was  very  slight.  The  truth  is 
that  suih  ex|M'riments  must  be  contnuied  for  many  years  before 
th.y  will  prove  anytliing.  As  I  said  before,  we  know  that  the 
manure  from  the  cot^^n-s(■ed  cake  is  richer  in  nitrogen  than 
that  from  the  corn  meal ;  but  we  also  know  that  this  nitrogen 
will  not  produce  so  great  an  efft'ct,  as  a  much  smaller  amount 
of  nitrogen  in  salts  of  ammonia,  or  nitrate  of  soda. 

In  going  over  thesf  experiments,  I  was  struck  with  the 
heal'.hy  iuid  vigorous  appearance  of  one  of  the  plots  of  wheat, 
and  asked  how  it  was  manured.  Dr.  Vcelcker  called  out, 
"clover,  Mr.  Harris,  clover."  In  England,  as  in  America,  it 
requires  very  little  observation  and  exjxrii'nce  to  convince  any 
one  of  the  valui-  of  cIov»'r.  After  what  I  have  said,  and  what 
the  Deacon,  the  Doctor,  Charley  and  the  Sijuire  have  said,  in 
the  pages  of  this  book,  I  hoiK'  no  one  will  think  that  I  do  not 
appreciate  the  great  value  of  red  clover  as  a  means  of  enrich- 
ing our  land.  Dr.  Voelcker  eviden^^ly  thought  I  was  skeptical 
on  this  ymint.  I  am  not.  I  have  great  faith  in  the  benefits  to 
he  derived  from  the  growth  of  clover.  But  I  do  not  think  it 
originates  fertility  ;  it  does  not  get  nitrogen  from  the  atmos- 
phere. Or  at  any  rate,  we  have  no  evidence  of  it.  The  facts 
are  all  the  other  way.  We  have  discussed  this  question  at 
considerable  length  in  the  pages  of  this  book,  and  it  ie 
not  necessary  to  say  more  on  the  subject.  I  would,  however, 
particularly  urge  farmers,  especially  those  who  are  using  phos- 
phates freely,  to  grow  as  much  clover  as  possible,  and  feed  it 
out  on  the  farm,  or  plow  it  under  for  manure. 

The  question  is  frequently  asked,  whether  the  use  of  phos- 
phates wUl  ultimately  impoverish  our  farms.  It  may,  or  it  may 


XVI  TALK.-^    ON    M  \  N  (  i;K.>. 

not.  It  (IcimikIs  on  iiur  p-iii-nil  iiiau:iK>-nu'nt.  Tlx-orrtiraHy. 
tlu'  ust'  of  a  manure  furiiisliin^;  only  one  i-l«-ni«>nt  of  planl  {inn\, 
if  it  incrt'iuses  the  growth  «>f  crops  whicli  are  soM  fmni  the 
farm,  must  have  a  t«.*nileney  to  im{»overi8h  the  hmii  of  the  oth«r 
eli-ments  of  plant  foovl.  In  other  words,  the  use  of  8Ui>erph«>s- 
p'l.itc  furuishinK  only.  «)r  priueiiKilly,  phitsphoric  acid,  lime  and 
Huiphuric  a<id.  iimtit  have  a  tendency  t4»  im|>overiah  the  soil  t>f 
nitrogen  and  iM.tJi.sh.  I'nictically.  ho\v»'ver,  it  netil  do  nothing 
of  the  kind.  If  the  land  is  well  cultivate*!,  and  if  our  low. 
rich,  alluvial  iHirtioiis  of  the  farm  an*  drained,  and  if  the  hay. 
grass,  clover,  straw  and  f<Mlder  «-roi»8  are  n'taintsl.  the  more 
phosphates  we  use,  the  richer  and  more  jiroductive  will  the 
fann  become.  And  I  think  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  farnien*  who 
use  the  most  ]>hosphates.  are  the  very  men  who  take  the  gn-at- 
est  pains  to  drain  their  land,  cultivate  it  thoroughly,  and  make 
the  most  manure.  It  follows,  then-fore,  that  the  use  of  phos- 
phates is  a  national  iMMielit. 

Sonje  of  our  railroad  managers  take  this  view  <»f  the  suhjiH't. 
They  carry  suj>erphosphate  at  a  low  rat*.*,  knowing  tliat  its  use 
will  increase  the  freight  the  other  way.  In  otlnr  words,  they 
bring  a  ton  of  sup  •rphosphate  from  the  S4*nl>oard.  knowing  that 
its  use  will  give  them  many  tons  of  freight  of  priwluce,  from 
the  interior  to  the  si-alxiard.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for 
two  hundred  iM>unds  of  8Ui>erphosphate,  to  give  an  incn-as*-  of 
five  tons  of  turnijis  ]>er  acre.  Or.  so  to  8|)e:tk,  the  niilrowl  that 
l)rings  one  ton  of  suixTphosphate  from  the  »t»alH>ard.  might,  as 
the  result  of  its  use,  liave  fifty  tons  of  fn*ight  tv  carry  Imck 
again.  Tliis  is  iMTliajw  a:i  exceptioiiahly  favorable  instance, 
but  it  illustrates  the  prin<iple.  Years  ago.  In-fori'  the  aUilition 
of  tolls  on  the  English  turnpike  roa<ls.  carriages  loaded  witli 
lime,  and  all  other  subst;uices  intendeil  for  manure,  were 
allowed  to  go  fn-e.  Ami  our  niilroa<ls  will  find  it  to  their  in- 
terest to  transport  manures  of  all  kinds,  at  a  merely  nominal 
rate. 

Many  people  will  be  surprised  at  tlie  n'commendntion  of  Sir 
Jolin  B.  I^iwes.  not  ti>  waste  time  and  money  in  cleaning  |H«)r 
land.  iR'fore  seeding  it  down  to  gra.s8.  He  thinks  that  if  tlie 
land  is  made  rich,  the  superior  grassi'S  overgrow  the  Kid 
grasses  and  we«>ds.  I  have  no  doubt  he  is  right  in  this,  though 
the  principle  may  Ix-  puslied  U)  an  extreme.  Our  climat*-.  in 
this  countrv,  is  so  favorable  for  killing  wi-eds.  that  the  plow 
and  the  cidtivator  will  jirobably  In-  a  more  economical  means 
of  making  our  land   clean,  than   the   lil.>eral  U8«  of  expenaive 


o 


iNTKolil  rTloN    To    MW    KI>ITI<»\.  XVII 

manunw.  It  .l.'|«.n.ls.  .|..ul.tl.-s.s.  on  th.-  huxl  an.l  on  rin  uni- 
Hlanr»-«.  It  is  w.ll  to  know  tluit  nianun-  on  ^fnws  lan.l,  will  ho 
iarn'a/*..  tin-  K'r<>»  th  of  tlu-  K>»«xi  K'nirtst-*.  jw  to  sinoth.-r  {]u- 
w  ^^I.H.  NVar  my  lioUi*.-  \va«  a  pi.MV  of  land  that  I  want^.l  to 
nialifiiUoa  lawn.  I  »*ow»mI  it  with  jcnuw  M-^tl,  hut  th»-  wi-^sIm 
Hin  -tiivriHl  it  out.  I  plow.-l  it.  an.l  h.Knl  it.  an.l  ri-8.ts|..,l  it. 
hut  still  thr  wi-,^i.H  ^'nw.  Mallows  ram.-  up  hy  tin-  lh..u.s;ir»<l! 
with  ..Ih.r  wii-ils  t.N.  nunHTou.s  to  n».-nli.>n.  It  waw  an  .•>»•• 
H.H'.  W».  ni..w»Hl  th.-  w.^^ls.  hut  alrn.wt  .l.-spainil  ..f  .v.t 
Mi.ikinK  adii-.nt  hitof  ^Tx-vs  lan.l  ..ut  of  it.  It  ho  hap|HniH| 
that.  on«'  yt-ar.  wi.  plar.-«l  th.- thiok.n  .-.Hips  ..n  this  njis.rahle 
w.^.ly  HjN.t.  Thf  h.iw  an.l  .hi.k.ns  wi-n-  k.-pt  tlurr  f..r  Hc'veral 
w,-«-kH.  Till'  f«i-«l  an.l  th.-  drippinKn  inaiK-  it  I.K»k  more  un- 
HiK'htly  than  evor.  hut  th.-  n.-xt  HprinK'.  «»«  if  l»y  nia>,'i<-.  the 
W.H..L*  w.-n-  p.nt'  jui.l  the  lan.l  wa8  iov.-r.-tl  with  .lark  >^'r.-.-n 
luxuriant  »n^iHS. 

In  r^-^iinl  t.>  th.-  u.s.-  of  iN.txsh  as  a  nianur.'.  w  havr  still 
niu.h  to  l.ani.  It  w.ml.l  s.sni  that  our  ^;niin  .rops  will  ujw 
mrln.  if  th.y  «ann..t  pi  potash,  fli-y  niu.h  pr.-f.-r  th.-  i»otiwh, 
ami  will  ^'n.w  nui-h  ni..r.-  luxuriantly  wlu-n-.  in  th.-  H.iil  or  ma- 
nun-,  in  )i.l.liti.>n  t..  th.- .>th.-r  .-l.-ni.-nts  <)f  plant  f.HwI.  i>..ta.sh  m 
ahun.lant.  Hut  th.-  in.Tejw»-«l  jfn.wth  rau.s...|  hy  th.-  |K.i;wh.  iH 
prinri|Killy.  if  not  .-ntin-ly.  Htniw.  or  l.-av.-s  an.l  Ht«<in.  Natiir.} 
iiiak."!.  a  ^n^'-it  .'iTort  to  pn.pa;,':it.-  th.-  s|Kvi.'s.  A  plant  of  wh.-at 
or  harl.-y.  will  pnxlu..-  .S.-.-.I  if  this  i.s  p«»Ksihlf.  ev.-n  at  th.-  .x- 
p«'n.s»'..f  th.- ..th.r  parts  of  th- plant. 

Forjrrain  crops.  cr.»wn  for  H.-.-.I.  tli.-n-fon-.  it  woul.l  s.'.-ni  to 
Ix-  .-ntin-ly  unpn>tital.l.-  to  us<-  |M.tjush  as  a  nianur.-.  If  tht-  H<»il 
contain.s  tlu-  oth.-r  .-It-in.nts  of  plant  f.Knl.  th.-  a.Iil  tion  of 
IHitash  may  Kiv.«  us  a  nmch  m..ri>  luxuriant  j^owth  of  l.-av.-s 
and  st.-m.  hut  no  mon-  ^niin  .)r  .sit-d.  F.»r  hay.  or  K^ana  or  fod- 
der cn>|>s.  the  ca.se  i.s  v.-ry  diff.-n-nt.  an.l  in.tash  may  often  1x3 
usetl  on  th.-s«'  crops  to  ^.-at  a«lvantaj;<'. 

I  am  incline.]  to  think  that  c.msi.lerahl.-  nitrat.-  of  .s<Kla  will 
yet  h«^  U.S.-.1  in  this  country  for  manun-.  I  d.tnot  stipi>f)si'  it  will 
pay  as  a  rule,  on  wh.-at.  com  an.l  .>thtr  standard  j,'rain  crojw. 
But  thepinlener.  s.'.-d  CT'i^.-r.  and  nurseryman,  will  find  out 
h<»w  t.)  us.'  it  with  K^r.at  pn.fit.  Our  nurs.'rymen  say  that  they 
cannot  use  artificial  manures  with  any  advanta;je.  It  is  un- 
douhLnlly  true  that  a  dressing  of  KU|>.-rphosphate,  nnvm  on  a 
hl.K-k  of  nurs«-ry  tre.s.  will  do  little  p[<mm1.  It  nev.^r  reaches  the 
r.>otsof  th.-  j.lants.  Sup.ri>li..sphat.' can  not  Ix- washed  down 
deep  into  the  soil.     Nitrate  of  soda  is  na<lily  carri.-d  down,   as 


XVIII  TALKS    ON    MAXUKES. 

deep  as  tlie  water  siuks.  For  trees,  therefore,  it  would  seem 
desira>)le  to  apply  tlie  superhosphate  iR'fore  they  are  planted, 
and  j)Io\v  it  undi-r.  And  the  same  is  true  of  i>otash  ;  but 
nitrate  of  soda  would  he  b<'tter  applied  as  a  top-dressiiig  every 
year,  early  in  the  sprin;^. 

The  most  discouraging  fact,  in  L;i\ves'  and  Uin)ert'3  experi- 
ments, is  the  great  loss  of  nitrogen.  It  would  seem  that,  on  an 
average,  during  the  last  forty  years,  about  one-half  tlie  ni- 
trogen is  \v:ushed  out  of  the  soil,  or  otherwise  lost.  I  can  not 
but  hope  and  believe  that,  at  any  rate  in  this  country,  there  is 
no  such  loss  in  practical  agriculture.  In  Lawes'  and  Gilbert's 
exi>eriments  on  wheat,  this  grain  is  grown  year  after  j'ear,  on 
the  same  land.  P'orty  annual  crops  have  U'eii  removtHl.  No 
clover  is  .sown  with  the  wheat,  ami  gre.it  jK-iins  are  taken  to 
keep  the  land  clean.  The  crop  i.s  liocd  whili-  growing,  and  the 
weeds  are  pulled  out  l)y  hand.  The  best  whe.it  se.xson  during 
the  forty  years.  w;ls  the  year  \H(VA.  Tiie  i>oorest,  that  of  1H70  ; 
and  il  so  happened,  that  after  an  .litsenceof  thirty  years.  I  was 
at  K<ithamsti'<|  during  this  iXMir  year  of  1879.  The  first  thing 
that  .struck  me.  in  looking  at  the  exjH'rimental  wheat,  was  the 
ragged  ai)pearance  of  the  crop.  My  own  wheat  crop  was  iM'ing 
cut  the  day  I  left  home,  July  15.  Several  m»'n  and  lM)ys  were 
pulling  weeds  out  of  tlie  ex|)erimental  wheat,  two  weeks  later. 
Hatl  the  weeds  Ix'en  suffered  to  grow.  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes 
tells  us,  there  wouM  be  less  loss  of  nitrogen.  The  loss  of  ni- 
trogen in  lM(i3,  \v;is  about  twi-nty-four  pounds  |M'r  acre,  and  in 
1H7',)  tifty  pounds  per  acre — the  amount  of  available  nitrogen, 
applied  in  each  year,  being  eighty-seven  pounds  jn-r  acre.  As  I 
said  before,  the  wheat  in  1879  had  to  me  a  ragged  look.  It  waa 
thin  (m  the  ground.  There  were  not  plants  enough  to  take  up 
and  evajwrate  the  large  amount  of  water  which  fell  tluring  the 
wet  season.  Such  a  condition  of  things  rarely  occurs  in  this 
country.  We  sow  timothy  with  our  wintt-r  wheat,  in  the 
autumn,  and  red  clover  in  the  spring.  After  the  wheat  is 
harvested,  we  frequently  have  a  heavy  growth  of  clover  in  the 
autumn.  In  such  circum.^tances  I  believe  there  would  be  com- 
paratively little  loss  r>f  nitrogen. 

In  the  summer-fallow  experiments,  which  have  now  lieen 
continued  for  twenty-seven  years,  there  has  been  a  great  loss  of 
nitrogen.  Tlie  same  remarks  ajiply  to  this  case.  No  one  ever 
advocates  summer-fallowing  land  every  other  year,  and  sow- 
ing nothing  but  wheat.  When  we  summer-fallow  a  piece  of 
land    for  wheat,   we  seed    it   down   with    grass  and  clover. 


INTRODUCTION'   TO    NKW    PIDITION".  ,\IX 

There  is,  an  a  rule,  very  littli'  loss  of  nitropcen  by  drainage  while 
the  wheat  is  growing  ou  tlie  groiuul.  hut  after  the  wheat  is  cut, 
the  grass  and  elover  ari-  pretty  sure  to  take  up  all  the  available 
nitrogen  within  the  range  of  their  r«M>ts.  This  sununer-faliow 
ex|M'riinent.  instead  of  affording  an  argument  against  the  use 
of  sunnner-fallowing,  is  an  argument  in  its  favor.  The  sum- 
mer-fallow, by  exi)osing  tlie  soil  to  the  deromposing  intluences 
of  the  atmosphere,  converts  more  or  less  of  the  inert  nitro- 
genous f>rganic  matter  into  ammonia  ami  nitric  acid.  This  is 
precisely  what  a  farmer  wants.  It  is  just  what  the  wheat  crop 
needs.  But  we  must  Ik?  very  careful,  wlun  we  render  the  ni- 
trogen soluble,  to  have  8om«'  plant  ready  to  take  it  up,  and  not 
let  it  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  during  the  winter  and  early 
spring. 

We  have  much  i)oor  land  in  the  United  States,  and  an  im- 
mense area  of  giMnl  land.  Tiie  i>o<ir  land  will  1k'  used  to  grow 
timber,  or  be  improvi-d  by  converting  more  or  less  of  it,  gradu- 
ally, into  pasture,  and  stoi-king  it  witli  sheep  and  cattle.  The 
main  jx)int  is,  to  feed  tlie  sheep  or  catll"  with  some  rich  nitro- 
genous fotxl,  such  as  cotton-seed  cake,  malt-sproiits,  bran, 
shorts,  mill-feed,  refuse  beans,  or  bean-meal  made  from  beans 
injured  by  the  weevil,  (»r  bug.  In  short,  the  owner  of  such 
land  must  buy  such  foo«l  as  will  furnish  the  most  nutriment 
and  make  the  richest  manure  at  the  least  cost — taking  both  of 
these  objects  into  consideration.  He  will  also  buy  more  or  less 
artificial  manures,  to  be  used  for  the  production  of  fodder 
crops,  such  as  corn,  millet,  Hungarian  griuss,  etc.  And,  as  soon 
as  a  portion  of  the  land  can  be  made  rich  enough,  he  will  grow 
more  or  less  mang»'l  wurzels.  sugar  Ix^ets,  turnips,  and  other 
root  crops.  Superphosphate  will  be  found  admirably  adapted  for 
this  purpose,  and  tw;).  three,  or  four  hundred  pounds  of  cheap 
potash  salts,  per  acre,  can  frequently  be  used  on  fodder  crops, 
in  connection  with  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  of  superphos- 
phate, with  considerable  profit.  The  whole  subject  is  well 
worthy  of  careful  study.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world 
has  there  been  a  grander  opportvmity  for  the  application  of 
science  to  the  improvement  of  agriculture  than  now. 

On  the  richer  lands,  the  aim  of  the  farmer  will  be  to  convert 
the  plant  food  lying  dormant  in  tlie  soil  into  profitable  crops. 
The  main  point  is  good  tillage.  In  many  cases  weeds  now  run 
away  with  half  our  crops  and  all  our  profits.  The  weeds  which 
spring  up  after  the  grain  crops  are  harvested,  are  not  an  un- 
mixed evil.     They  retain  the  nitrogen  and  other  plant  food,  and 


XX  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

v^hen  turued  under  make  inauuiv  f<;r  tlie  succetHliiiR  crops. 
But  weeds  among  the  growing  crop  are  evil,  and  only  an  evil. 
Thorough  plowing  is  the  remedy,  accompanietl  by  drainage 
where  needed. 

We  have  an  inniunHf  numlier  of  farms  on  which  there  are 
both  good  and  poor  land.  In  such  casi-s  we  must  a<lopt  a  com- 
bined system.  We  :aust  grow  large  c-rops  on  the  rich  land  r.nd 
use  them,  at  least  in  part,  to  make  manure  for  tin-  poorer  por- 
tions of  the  farm.  Drainage  an<l  good  tillage  will  convert 
much  of  our  low,  ."lluvial  lands  into  a  perfect  mine  of  wealth. 
And  much  of  our  high,  rolling  land  consists  of  strong  loam, 
abounding  in  plant  food.  Such  hmti  re<juires  little  more  than 
thorough  tillage,  with  iK-rhaps  two  hundretl  ]»oun(Ls  of  suix^r- 
phosphate  per  acre,  to  enable  it  to  pnxiuce  gooil  grain  crops. 

After  all  is  said  and  done,  farming  is  a  business  that  re(piire8 
not  merely  science,  but  industry,  economy.  an<l  common  s»'nse. 
The  real  basis  of  success  is  faith,  accompanied  witii  good  works. 
I  cannot  illustrate  this  better  than  by  alluding  to  one  of  my 
neighbors,  a  stnmg.  healthy,  intelligent,  observing  ami  enter- 
prising German,  who  commeiieed  life  as  a  fann  lalM)rer.  jind  is 
to-day  wortn  at  lea.st  one  hundred  thousand  <lollars,  that  he 
has  made,  not  by  the  advance  of  suburban  projH^rty,  b'lt  by 
farming,  pure  and  simple.  He  first  rented  a  farm,  and  then 
bought  it,  and  in  a  few  yeare  he  Ijought  another  farm  adjoin- 
ing the  first  one.  and  would  tonlay  V>uy  another  if  he  found  one 
that  suited  him.  He  has  faith  in  farming.  Some  people  think 
he  '■  runs  his  land."  and,  in  fact,  such  is  the  ca.se.  He  keejis 
good  teams,  and  good  jilows,  and  good  harrows,  and  good 
rollers,  and  good  cultivators,  and  good  grade  Shorthoni  cows. 
He  acts  as  though  he  believed,  as  Sir  John  B.  I..;iwes  says,  that 
"  the  soil  is  a  mine,"  out  of  which  he  digs  money  He  runs 
his  land  for  all  it  is  worth.  He  raises  wheat,  barley,  oats,  com, 
potatoes,  and  hay.  and  when  he  can  get  a  good  price  for  his 
timothy  hay,  he  draws  it  to  market  and  sells  it.  Thorough  til- 
lage is  the  ba.sis  of  his  success.  He  is  now  using  phosphates 
for  wheat,  and  will  probably  increa.se  his  herd  of  cows  and 
make  more  manure.  He  has  great  faith  in  manure,  but  acts 
as  though  hi'  had  still  greater  faith  in  good  plowing,  early 
sowing,  and  thorough  cultivation. 


r  K  E  F  A  ( '  E     TO     F  I  K  S  T     EDITION, 


Tlic  PrinlPrs  hfivp  pot  our  "Talks  on  Manurps"  in  typo;  and 
the  publisliers  want  a  Profaci-. 

The  Deacon  is  busy  hoeing  hia  corn;  the  Doctor  is  gone  to  Rice 
Lake,  fishing;  Charley  is  cultivatini;  mangels;  the  Squire  is  hay- 
ing, and  I  am  here  alone,  with  a  jM-ncil  in  hand  and  a  sheet  of 
blank  paper  l)efore  me.  I  wouKl  far  rather  be  at  work.  In  fael, 
I  have  only  just  come  in  from  the  fleld. 

Now,  what  shall  I  siiy?  It  will  do  no  good  to  apologize  for  the 
dcficienries  of  tlie  l)ook.  If  the  eritics  condescend  to  notice  it  at 
all,  nothing  I  can  say  will  propitiate  their  favor,  or  moderate  their 
censure.  Tijey  are  aa  independent  set  of  fellows  !  1  know  tlieiu 
well  I  am  ao  old  editor  myscli,  and  nothing  would  please  me 
betttT  than  to  sit  down  and  write  a  slashing  criticism  of  these 
"Talks  on  Manures." 

But  I  am  denied  that  pleasure.     The  critics  have  the  floor. 

All  1  will  siy  her3,  is,  that  the  book  is  wiiat  it  preten^ls  to  be. 
Some  people  seem  to  think  that  the  *'  Deacon"  is  a  fictitious  char- 
acter. Notliing  of  the  kind.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  farmers  in 
town,  and  lives  on  the  farm  next  to  mc.  I  have  the  very  highest 
respect  for  him.  I  have  tried  to  report  him  fully  and  correctly. 
Of  my  own  share  in  the  conversations  I  will  say  little,  and  of  the 
Doctor's  nothing,  il}-  own  views  are  honestly  given.  I  hold  mv- 
self  responsible  for  them.  I  may  contradict  in  one  chapter  what  I 
have  asserted  in  another.  And  sc,  pr()l)ably,  has  the  Deacon.  I 
do  not  know  wliether  this  is  or  is  not  the  case.  I  know  very  well 
that  on  many  questions  "much  can  be  said  on  both  sides  "—and 
very  likely  the  Deacon  is  sometimes  on  the  south  side  of  the  fence 
and  I  on  the  nortli  side;  and  in  tlie  next  chapter  you  may  find  the 
Deacon  on  the  north  side,  and  where  would  you  have  me  go,  ex- 
cept to  the  south  side  ?  AVe  cannot  see  both  sides  of  the  fence,  if 
both  of  us  walk  on  the  same  side! 

I  fear  some  will  be  disappointed  at  not  finding  a  particular  sub- 
ject discussed. 
I  have  talked  about  those  things  which  occupy  my  own  thoughts. 
XXI 


XXII  PREFACE  TO   FIRST  EDITION. 

There  are  some  things  not  worth  thinking  about  There  arc  othcri 
beyond  my  reach. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  manures  for  cotton  or  for  the  sugar- 
cane— not  because  I  feel  no  interest  in  the  matter,  but  because  I 
have  had  no  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  these  imporUint  crops. 
I  might  have  told  what  tlie  crops  conUiiu,  and  could  have  given 
minute  directions  for  furnishing  in  manure  the  exact  tiuanlity  of 
plant-food  which  the  cro|)s  remove  from  the  soil.  But  1  have  no 
faith  in  such  a  system  of  farming.  Tlie  few  cotton-planters  1  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  were  men  of  education  and  rare  ability. 
I  cannot  uudertjike  to  offer  them  advice.  But  1  presume  they  will 
find  that,  if  they  desire  to  increase  the  growth  of  the  cotton-plant, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  they  can  do  it,  provided  the  soil  is  proiuriy 
worked,  by  supplying  a  manure  conUiining  available  nitroiren, 
pliosphorie  acitl,  and  potash.  But  the  pr»j»€r  proportion  of  these 
ingredients  of  i)lant-food  must  be  ascerUiined  by  experiment,  and 
not  from  a  mere  analysis  of  the  cotton  i)laiit. 

I  have  mueli  faith  in  artificial  manures.  They  will  do  great 
things  for  American  agriculture — directly,  and  indirectly.  Theii 
general  use  will  lead  to  a  higher  system  of  farming — to  better  cul- 
tivation, more  root  and  fodder  crops,  improved  stock,  higher  feed- 
ing, and  richer  manure.  But  it  has  been  no  part  of  my  olyeet  to 
unduly  extol  the  virtues  of  commercial  manures.  Tliat  may  lie  left 
to  tlie  manufacturers. 

My  sympathy  is  with  the  farmer,  and  especially  with  the  farmei 
of  moderate  means,  who  finds  thnt  improved  farming  calls  foi 
more  and  more  capital.  I  would  like  to  encourajre  such  a  man. 
And  so,  in  point  of  fact,  would  the  Deacon,  thouirh  he  often  Udks 
as  though  a  man  who  tries  to  improve  his  farm  will  certainly  come 
to  poverty.  Such  men  as  the  Deacon  are  useful  neiirhbors  if  their 
doubts,  and  head-shakings,  and  shoulder-shru agings  lead  a  y<»ung 
and  enthusiastic  farmer  to  put  more  eneriry,  industry,  and  economy 
into  his  business.  It  is  well  to  listen  to  tlio  Deaenn — to  licar  all  liis 
obieetious,  and  then  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  fur  the  dangers  and 
difficulties,  and  go-iOuad. 


TALKS    ON    MAXITRES. 


c  n  A  r  T  E  R  I. 

FAli.MlXG    AS    A    BUSINESS. 

"  FamiiiiLr  i?;  a  poor  l>usincss,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  Take  the  rorn 
crop.  Thirty  biisht-ls  per  acre  is  a  fair  avi-ra:,'!',  worth,  at  75  cents 
per  l)usiu'l,  liiJ.oO.  If  we  reckon  tliat,  for  each  husliil  of  corn,  we 
get  100  liJ9.  of  stalks,  this  would  be  a  Ion  and  a  half  per  acre,  worth 
at  $5  per  ton  $7.50." 

Total  receipts  per  acre  for  com  crop $30  00 

Ex[>enscs. — Preparintj  the  land  for  the  crop f5  00 

Plautini;  and  seed 1  50 

Cultivatmtr,  three  times,  twice  in  a  row  hoth 

ways 5  00 

Hoeina:  twice 3  00 

Cuttinir  ni»  tlio  corn 1  50 

Huskini;  and  ilrn  winj^  in  the  corn 4  00 

Drawinij  in  the  stilks,  etc 1  00 

Shelliii;^,  and  dmwini^  to  market 2  00 

Total  cost  of  the  crop $2.S  00 

Profit  per  acre ^7  00 

"  And  from  this,"  .said  the  Deacon,  "  we  have  to  deduct  interest 
on  land  and  taxes.     I  tell  you,  farrain?  is  a  poor  business." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "poor  farmin;?  is  a  very  poor  business.  But 
good  farminir,  if  we  have  good  prices,  is  as  good  a  business  as  I 
want,  and  withal  as  pleasant.     A  good  farmer  raises  75  bushels 


10 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


of  corn  per  acre,  instead  of  30.      lie  would    get  for  hia  crop, 

inclutling  stulks i|7o  00 

Expenses. — Preparing  land  fur  the  croj) ^00 

Planting  and  seed 1  5U 

Cultivating 5  00 

Hoeing 3  00 

Cutting  up  tlie  eorii 1  50 

Uuskiiig  and  drawing 10  00 

Drawing  in  the  stalks 3  00 

Shelling,  etc G  (K) 

?:J5  00 


ProOt  per  acre i-H)  tK) 

Take  another  case,  which  actually  occurred  in  this  neighborhood. 
Tiic  Judge  i3  a  good  farmer,  and  particularly  successful  in  raising 
potatoes  and  selliug  them  at  a  good  price  to  hotels  and  private 
families.  He  cultivates  very  thoroughly,  jilants  in  hills,  and  puts 
a  handful  of  ashes,  plaster,  and  hen-manure,  on  the  hill. 

In  1873,  his  crop  of  Peachblows  was  at  the  rate  of  208  bushels 
jH'r  acre.  Of  these,  300  husii:  Is  were  sold  at  GO  cents  per  bus'.iel. 
Tlirre  were  8  bushels  of  small  j)otatoes,  worth  say  12i  cents  per 
bushel,  to  feed  out  to  stock. 

Mr.  Sloe,  who  lives  on  an  aljoining  farm,  had  three  acres  of 
Peachblow  pot:itoes  the  same  year.  The  yieLl  was  100  l)ushels  per 
acre — of  which  2o  bushels  were  not  large  enough  for  market,  he 
got  50  cents  per  bushel  for  tlie  others. 

The  account  of  the  two  crops  stands  as  follows; 


Expetiscs  Rr  Acre; 


Plowing,  harrowing,  rolling,  marking,  plant- 
ing, and  covering 

Seed.:. : 

Hoeing,  cultivating,  etc 

Diirtrinsr 


Jirreipln  J\r  Anr: 

75  bushels,  (ih  .^Oo 

25       "         (<$12ic 


200  Imshels,  (?i)60c.. 
8       '»         @  12Jc. 


Profit  per  acre . 


J/"r„S7o. 

1 

$  8  00 

5  00 

7  oo; 

10  ooj 

30  00 

37  50 
3  12 

40  62 

$10  62 

Judge. 

I  S  00 

5  (to 

10  00 

_1()^ 


120  00 
1  00 

121  (I.I 
><.»8~00 


Since  then,  Mr.  Sloe  lias  been  making  and  using  more  manure, 
and  the  year  before  last  (1875)  his  crop  of  potatoes  averaged  over 


PAUMiyO    Afi    A    RUSINRS.-^,  II 

200  Inishrls  per  acre,  ami  on  llic  sandy  knolls,  where  more  luiiiuiro 
was  applied,  tlie  yield  w.is  at  least  230  biis'.iels  per  acre. 

"Neverlliel 'ss,"  said  the  Deacon,  "1  do  not  believe  in  'high 
farming.'     It  will  not  pay." 

"  Po.«<sibly  not,"  I  replied.  "It  d.pends  on  circumsUnces ;  and 
these  we  will  talk  about  presently.  High  farming  aims  to  get 
large  erojjs  every  year.  Good  farming  produces  eipially  large  erojjs 
per  aere,  but  not  so  many  of  them.  This  is  wliat  I  am  trying  to 
ilo  on  my  own  farm.  1  am  aiming  to  get  35  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  80  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  50  l)ushels  of  barley,  90  bushels  of 
oats,  ;}00  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  1,200  bushels  of  mangel-wurzel 
per  acre,  on  tlie  average.  I  can  see  no  way  of  i)aying  high  wages 
except  by  raising  large  crops  jwr  ncn'.  But  if  I  get  tiiese  large 
crops  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  I  am  practising  'high 
farming.'  " 

To  illustrate:  Suppose  I  should  succeed  in  getting  sucii  crops 
by  adopting  tlie  following  plan.  I  have  a  farm  of  nearly  :5U0  acres, 
one  (luarter  of  it  l»eing  low,  alluvial  land,  too  wet  for  cultivation, 
but  when  drained  excellent  for  pasturing  cows  or  for  timothy 
meadows.  I  drain  this  land,  and  after  it  is  drained  I  dam  up  some 
of  the  streams  that  flow  into  it  or  through  it,  and  irrigate  wherever 
I  can  make  the  water  flow.     So  much  for  the  low  land. 

The  upland  portion  of  the  farm,  containing  say  200  acres,  ex- 
clusive of  fenc:'s,  roads,  buildings,  garden,  etc.,  is  a  naturally  fertile 
loam,  as  good  as  the  average  wheat  land  of  Western  New  York. 
But  it  is,  or  was,  badly  "  run  down."  It  had  been  what  people  call 
"  worked  to  death ; ''  although,  i:i  point  of  fact,  it  had  not  been 
half-worked.  Some  siid  it  was  "  wheated  to  death,"  others  that  it 
had  been  "  oated  to  de  ith,"  others  that  it  had  been  "  grassed  to 
death,"  and  one  man  said  to  me,  "That  field  has  had  sheep  on  it 
until  they  have  gnawed  every  particle  of  vegetable  matter  out  of 
the  soil,  and  it  will  not  now  produce  enough  to  pasture  a  flock  of 
geese."  And  he  was  not  far  from  right — notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  sheep  are  thouglit  to  be,  an  1  are,  the  best  animals  to  enrich 
land.  But  let  me  say,  in  passing,  that  I  have  since  raised  on  that 
same  field  50  bushels  of  barley  per  acre,  33  bushels  of  Diehl  wheat, 
a  great  crop  of  clover,  and  last  year,  on  a  part  of  it,  over  1,000 
bushels  of  mangel-wurzel  per  acre. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  Le';  us  carry  out  the  illustration.  What 
does  this  upland  portion  of  the  farm  need?  It  needs  underdrain- 
ing,  tliorough  cultivation,  an  1  plenty  of  manure.  If  I  had  plenty 
of  manure,  I  could  adopt  high  farming.  But  where  am  I  to  get 
plenty  of  manure  for  200  acres  of  land  ?    "  Make  it,"  says  the 


12  Talks  ox  manures. 

Deacon.  Very  good ;  but  what  shall  I  make  it  of  ?  "  Make  it  out 
of  your  straw  and  stalks  and  huy."  So  1  do,  but  all  the  straw  and 
stalks  and  hay  raised  on  the  farm  when  I  bought  it  would  not 
make  as  nmch  manure  as  "  high  farming"  retiuires  for  live  acres 
of  land.  And  is  this  not  true  of  lialf  the  farms  in  the  United 
States  to  day  ?     Wliat  then,  sliall  we  do  ? 

The  best  thing  to  do,  t/icorcticilly,  is  this:  An}-  land  tiiat  is  i>ro- 
ducing  a  fair  crop  of  grass  or  clover,  let  it  lie.  Pasture  it  or  mow 
it  for  hay.  If  3'ou  have  a  fl<ld  of  clayey  or  stiff  loam}-  land,  break 
it  up  in  the  fall,  and  summer-fallow  it  the  ne.xt  year,  and  sow  it  to 
wheat  and  seed  it  down  with  clover.  Let  it  lie  two  or  three  years 
in  clover.  Then  bre.ik  it  up  in  July  or  August,  "  fall-fallow  "  it, 
and  sow  it  with  burliy  the  next  spring,  and  seed  it  dt)wn  again 
with  clover. 

Sandy  or  liglit  land,  that  it  will  not  i)ay  to  sumincr-fallow, 
should  have  all  t'le  manure  you  can  make,  and  be  plowed  and 
planted  with  corn.  Cultivate  thoroughly,  and  either  seed  it  down 
with  the  cor.'i  in  August,  or  sow  it  to  barley  or  oats  ne.xt  spring, 
and  seed  it  down  with  clover.  I  say,  theoretiCiilly  this  is  the  best 
plan  to  adojit.  But  practically  it  may  not  be  so,  because  it  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  that  we  should  raise  something  that  wc  can 
s  'II  at  once,  and  get  money  to  live  upon  or  pay  interest  and  taxes. 
But  the  gentlemen  who  so  strenuously  advocate  high  farming,  are 
not  perhaps  often  troubled  with  considerations  of  tins  kind.  Meet- 
ing th  Mn,  tlierefore,  on  their  own  ground,  I  contend  lliat  in  my 
case  "  Ingh  farming"  would  not  be  as  profitable  as  the  plan  hinted 
at  above. 

The  rich  altuvi-il  low  lan.l  is  to  be  pasture  1  or  mown  ;  the  upland 
to  b^  l)r.)ken  up  only  wlien  necessary,  and  when  it  is  plowed  Xu  be 
plowed  well  and  worked  thoroughly,  and  got  back  again  into 
clover  as  soon  a.s  possible.  The  hay  and  pasture  from  the  low 
land,  and  the  clover  and  straw  and  stalks  from  the  upland,  would 
enable  us  to  keep  a  good  many  cows  and  sheep,  with  more  or  less 
pigs,  and  there  would  be  a  big  pile  of  manure  in  the  yard  every 
spring.  And  when  this  is  once  obtained,  you  can  get  along  much 
more  pleasantly  and  profitably. 


"  But,"  I  may  be  asked,  "  when  yi>u  have  got  this  pile  of  manure 
can  not  you  adopt  high  farming?"  No.  My  manure  pile  would 
contain  say  :  60  tons  of  clover-hay;  20  tons  wheat-straw;  25  tons 
oat,  birley,  and  pea-straw;  40  tons  mr'adow-hay;  20  tons  corn- 
stalks ;  20  tons  corn,  oats,  and  other  grain ;  120  tons  mangel-wurze] 
and  turnips. 


FAKMINt;     AS    A    m'SINKSS.  13 

Tills  would  li'ivc  inc  alioiit  ."iilO  Idms  dI"  wtli-roUcil  niaiiiirc  1 
BJiuulil  wiiiit  200  Ions  of  lliis  for  tia-  in;iii<:;ils  and  luniiiis,  aiul  the 
3U0  Ions  1  should  want  to  top-dri'ss  20  a<ies  of  ij;rass  land  inU'iulni 
for  command  potatoes  tin"  next  y<ar.  My  piK-  of  niauiirc,  there 
fore,  is  all  usv-d  up  on  2~>  to  oO  acres  of  land.  In  other  words,  1  use 
the  unsold  produce  of  10  acres  to  manure  one.  Is  this  "  high 
farming  ?  "  I  think  in  my  circumstances  it  is  good  funning,  hut  it 
is  not  higli  farming.  It  gives  mc  large  crops  per  acre,  but  I  liave 
comparatively  few  acres  in  crops  that  are  sold  from  the  farm. 

"  High  farming,"  if  tlic  term  is  to  liuvc  any  definite  meaning  at 
all,  should  only  he  used  to  express  the  iilea  of  a  farm  so  manaircd 
that  the  soil  is  rich  em)Ugh  {o  produce  ma.ximum  crops  (rti-y  yiir. 
If  you  adopt  the  system  of  rotation  (piite  general  in  this  section — 
siy,  1st  year,  con  on  sod;  2d,  barley  or  oats;  3d,  wheat;  4th, 
clover  for  hay  and  afterwards  for  seed ;  5th,  timothy  and  clover 
for  hay ;  and  then  tiie  Clh  year  plowed  up  for  corn  again — it  would 
be  necessary  to  make  the  land  rich  enough  to  i>roduce  say  100 
bu.sbels  shelled  corn,  50  bushels  of  l)arley,  40  bushels  of  wheal,  3 
to!is  clover  hay,  and  5  bushels  of  clover-seed,  and  3  tons  (lover  and 
timothy-bay  per  acre.  This  would  l-e  mnderair,  hi'i^h  farninig.  If 
we  introduced  lucern,  Italian  ryc-gra.ss,  corn-fodder,  and  man'ccl- 
wurzel  into  tlie  rotation,  we  should  ne: d  still  richiT  land  to  pnnluce 
a  ma.\iinum  grt)wlh  of  these  crops.  In  other  words,  we  should 
need  more  manure. 

The  point  I  am  endeavoring  to  get  at,  is  this:  "Where  you  want 
a  farm  to  be  self-sup[>orting — where  you  depend  solely  on  the  pro- 
duce of  the  farm  to  supply  manure — it  is  a  sheer  impossil)ility  to 
adopt  hijh  farming  on  th/'  whole  of  your  I  end.  I  want  to  raise  just 
as  large  crops  per  acre  as  the  high  farmers,  but  tiiere  is  no  way  of 
doing  this,  unless  we  go  outside  the  farm  for  manure,  without 
raising  a  smaller  area  ot  such  crops  as  are  sol  1  from  the  farm. 


I  do  not  wish  any  one  to  suppose  that  I  am  opposed  to  high  farm 
in  ;.  There  is  oecasioniilly  a  farm  where  it  may  be  practised  with 
advantage,  but  it  seems  perfectly  clear  to  my  mind  that  as  hms;  as 
there  is  such  an  unlimited  supply  of  land,  and  such  a  limited  .sup- 
ply of  fertilizei-s,  most  of  us  will  find  it  more  profitable  to  develop 
the  latent  stores  of  plant-food  lying  dormant  in  the  soil  rather  than 
to  buy  manures.  And  it  is  ccr'ain  that  you  can  not  adopt  high 
faming  without  either  buying  manure  directly,  or  buying  food  to 
fee  1  to  animals  that  shall  make  manure  on  the  farm. 

And  3'ou  must  recollect  that  high  farming  requires  an  iucrtiascd 


14  TALKS   ON  MANURES, 

sui)|)ly  of  labor,  and  bired  bclp  is  a  luxury  almost  as  costly  as 
artiliciai  fertilizers. 


We  bave  beard  superficial  tbiukers  object  to  agricultural  papers 
on  tbe  <j:round  tbat  tbey  were  urginj,^  farmers  to  inij-rove  tbeir  land 
and  i)roduce  larger  crops,  "  wliile,"  say  tbey,  "  we  are  producing  so 
mucb  already  tliat  it  will  not  sell  for  as  nuicb  as  it  costs  to  produce 
it."  My  plan  of  improved  agriculture  does  n(»t  necessjirily  imply 
tbe  production  of  any  more  wbeat  or  of  an}-  more  grain  of  any 
kind  that  wc  sell  tban  we  raise  at  present.  I  would  simply  raise 
it  on  fewer  acres,  and  tbus  lessen  tbe  expense  for  seed,  cultivation, 
harvesting,  etc.  I  would  raise  30  bushels  of  wiieat  per  acre  every 
third  year,  instead  of  10  bushels  every  year. 

If  we  summer-fallowed  and  plowed  under  clover  in  order  to  pro- 
duce the  30  bushels  of  wlieat  once  in  three  years,  instead  of  10 
bushels  every  year,  no  more  produce  of  any  kind  would  be  raised. 
But  my  plan  does  not  contemplate  such  a  result.  On  mj"  own 
farm  I  seldom  summer-fall(nv,  and  never  plow  under  clover.  I 
think  T  can  enrich  tbe  farm  nearly  as  much  by  feeding  the  clover 
to  ap.imals  and  returning  the  manure  to  the  land.  The  animals  do 
not  take  out  more  tban  from  five  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  more  valu- 
able elements  of  plant-food  from  the  clover.  And  so  my  plan, 
while  it  produces  as  mucb  and  no  more  grain  to  sdl,  adds  greatly 
to  the  fertility  of  tlie  land,  and  gives  an  increased  production  of 
beef,  nnitton,  wool,  butter,  cheese,  and  pork. 

"  But  what  is  a  man  to  do  who  is  poor  and  has  poor  land  ?  "  If 
be  has  good  health,  is  industrious,  economical,  and  is  possessed  of 
a  fair  share  of  good  common  sense,  be  need  bave  no  doubt  as  to 
being  able  to  renovate  his  farm  and  improve  bis  own  fortune. 

Faith  in  good  farming  is  the  first  requisite.  If  this  is  weak,  it 
will  be  strengthened  by  exercise.  If  you  bave  not  faith,  act  as 
though  you  had. 

Work  hard,  but  do  not  be  a  drudge.  A  few  hours'  vigorous  labor 
will  accomplish  a  great  deal,  and  encourage  you  to  continued  ctTort. 
Be  prompt,  s^'stematic,  cheerful,  and  enthusiastic.  Go  to  bed  early 
and  get  up  wheii  you  wake.  But  take  sleep  enough.  A  man  had 
better  l)e  in  bed  tban  at  the  tavern  or  grocery.  Let  not  friends, 
even,  keep  you  up  late  ;  "  manners  is  manners,  but  still  your  eltb'a 
your  cltb." 

"But  what  has  this  to  do  with  good  farming?"  ]\lore  tban 
chemistry  and  all  the  science  of  the  schools.  Agriculture  is  an  art 
and  must  be  followed  as  sucli.  Science  will  help — help  enormously 
• — l)ut  it  will  never  enable  us  to  dispense  with  industry.    Chemistry 


FARMING    AS    A    111' SIN  ESS.  15 

throws  great  light  on  llic  art  uf  coukiug,  but  a  farnuT's  wife  will 
roast  a  turkey  better  than  a  Liebig. 

When  Mr.  James  O.  Sheldon,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  bought  his  farm, 
his  entire  crop  of  hay  the  first  year  was  7G  loads.  He  kept  stock, 
and  bouglit  more  or  less  grain  ami  bran,  and  in  eleven  years  from 
that  time  l;is  farm  pn)due(d  4;JU  loads  of  hay,  aflorded  pasture  for 
his  large  herd  of  SlKjrthoru  cattle,  and  produced  quite  as  much 
gr.iin  as  wlien  he  lirst  took  it. 

Except  in  the  neighborho.td  of  large  cities,  "high  farming"  may 
not  pay,  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  have  so  much  land.  But  whether 
this  is  so  or  not,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  only  protital>le 
system  of  farming  is  to  raise  large  crops  on  such  land  as  we  culti- 
vate. High  farming  gives  us  large  crops,  and  many  of  tJiein.  At 
present,  while  we  iiave  so  much  land  in  proportion  to  population, 
we  must,  jK^rliaps,  be  content  witli  large  crops  of  grain,  and  few  of 
them.  We  must  adopt  tlie  slower  but  less  expensive  means  of 
enriciiing  our  l.md  from  natural  .sources,  rather  than  the  cpiickcr, 
more  artilieial.  and  co.stly  means  adopted  by  many  f.irmers  in 
En, Han  1,  and  l)y  market  gardeners,  see  1-growcrs,  and  nurservmen 
in  this  country.  Labor  is  so  higli  tliat  we  can  not  afford  to  rais-  a 
sm  dl  crop.  If  we  sow  but  half  the  number  of  acres,  and  doubly 
the  yielJ,  we  should  quadruple  our  profits.  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  let  the  land  lie  in  clover  three  j-ears,  instead  of  two.  This 
will  lessen  the  number  of  acres  under  cultivation,  and  enable  us  to 
bestow  more  care  in  pi  )wing  and  cleaiiing  it.  And  the  land  will 
be  richer,  and  produce  better  crops.  The  atmosphere  is  capable 
of  supplying  a  certain  quantity  of  ammonia  to  the  soil  in  rains  and 
dews  every  year,  and  by  giving  th  "  wheat  crop  a  three  years  sup- 
ply instead  of  two  years,  we  gain  so  much.  Plaster  the  clover, 
top-dress  it  in  the  fall,  if  you  have  the  manure,  and  stimulate  its 
growth  in  every  way  possible,  and  consume  all  the  clover  on  the 
land,  or  in  the  barn-yard.  Do  not  sell  a  single  ton  ;  let  not  a  weed 
grow,  and  the  land  will  certainly  improve. 

The  first  object  should  be  to  destroy  weeds.  I  do  not  know  how 
it  is  in  other  sections,  but  with  us  the  majority  of  farms  are  com- 
plotely  overrun  with  weeds.  They  are  eating  out  the  life  of  the 
land,  and  if  something  is  not  done  to  destroy  them,  even  exorbitant- 
ly higli  prices  can  not  make  farming  profitable.  A  farmer  yester- 
day was  contending  that  it  did  not  pay  to  summer- fallow.  He 
has  taken  a  run-down  farm,  and  a  year  ago  last  spring  he  plowed 
up  ten  acres  of  a  field,  and  sowed  it  to  barley  and  oats.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  field  he  summer-fallowed,  plowing  it  four  times, 
and  rolling  and  harrowing  thoroughly  after  each  plowing.     After 


16  TALKS    ON    MANUUKS. 

the  barley  and  oats  wore  off,  he  plowed  the  laud  once,  harrowed  iL 
and  sowf;d  Med.terranean  wheat.  On  the  summtT-fallow  he 
drilled  in  Diehl  wheat.  He  has  just  threshed,  and  got  22  bushels 
per  acre  of  Mediterranean  wheat  after  the  spring  crop,  at  one 
plowing,  and  26  bushels  per  acre  of  Diehl  wheat  on  the  summer- 
fallow.  This,  he  said,  would  not  pay,  as  it  cost  liiui  f  :?0  i)er  acre 
to  sunniier- fallow,  and  he  lost  the  use  of  the  land  for  one  season. 
Now  this  may  be  all  true,  and  yet  it  is  no  arLTument  against  sum 
mer-fallowing.  Wait  a  few  years.  Farming  is  slow  work.  Mr. 
George  Geddes  remarked  to  me,  when  1  told  him  I  was  trying  to 
renovate  a  run-down  farm,  "you  will  find  it  the  work  of  ycur 
life."  We  ought  not  to  expect  a  ing  crop  on  poor,  run-down  land, 
simply  by  plowing  it  three  or  four  times  in  as  many  months.  Time 
is  required  for  the  chemical  changes  to  Uike  place  in  the  soil.  But 
■watcii  the  effect  on  the  clover  for  the  next  two  years,  and  when 
the  land  is  plowed  again,  see  if  it  is  not  in  far  better  condition  tlian 
the  part  not  snnimcr-fallowe.l.  I  should  expect  the  clover  on  the 
summer-fallow  to  be  fully  one-third  better  in  quantity,  and  of  bet- 
ter quality  than  on  the  otlur  part,  and  this  extra  quantity  of  clover 
will  make  an  extra  quantity  of  good  manure,  and  thus  we  have  the 
means  of  going  on  with  the  work  of  improving  the  farm. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  there  will  also  be  more  dmer- 
roots  in  the  soil." 

"  But  I  can  not  afford  to  wait  for  clover,  and  summer- fa  How  ing," 
writes  an  intelligent  New  York  gentleman,  a  dear  lover  (jf  good 
stock,  who  h.;s  bought  an  exhausted  New  Enirland  farm,  "  1  nuist 
have  a  portion  of  it  producing  good  crops  right  off."  Very  well. 
A  farmer  with  plenty  of  money  can  do  womlers  in  a  short  time. 
Set  a  gang  of  ditchers  to  work,  and  put  in  underdrains  where  most 
needed.  Have  teams  and  plows  enough  to  do  the  work  rapidly. 
As  soon  as  the  land  is  drained  and  plowed,  put  on  a  heavy  roller. 
Then  sow  oOO  lbs.  of  Peruvim  guano  per  acre  broadcast,  or  its 
equivalent  in  some  other  fertilizer.  Follow  with  a  Shares'  harrow. 
This  will  mellow  the  surface  and  cover  the  guano  without  dis- 
turbing the  sod.  Follow  vith  a  forty-toothed  harrow,  and  roll 
again,  if  needed,  working  the  land  until  there  is  three  or  four 
inches  of  fine,  mellow  surface  soil.  Then  mark  off  the  land  in 
rows  as  strai<rht  as  an  arrow,  and  plant  com.  Cultivate  thoroughly, 
and  kill  every  weed.  If  the  ditchers  can  not  get  tlirough  until  it 
is  too  late  to  plant  corn,  drill  in  beans  on  the  last  drained  part  ot 
the  field. 

Ano«her  good  crop  to  raise  on  a  stock  farm  is  corn-fodder. 
This  can  be  drilled  in  from  time  to  time  as  the  land  cac  be  got 


FAUMlNi;    AS    A    BUSINESS.  17 

ready.  Put  on  half  a  ton  of  i;uano  per  acre  and  bariow  in  and 
thou  mark  otf  tlio  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  drill  in  four  bushels 
of  eorii  per  acre,  (."ullivute  tliuntUL^h'.y,  and  e.xpeet  a  great  eroj). 
Hy  the  last  of  July,  tiie  Ayrshire  eows  will  lake  kindly  to  the  suc- 
culent corn-fo  Ider,  and  with  three  or  four  quarts  <>f  meal  a  day, 
it  will  enable  each  of  Ihetn  to  make  10  lbs.  of  butt-  r  a  we»k. 

For  the  pigs,  s-jw  a  few  acres  of  peas.  These  will  do  well  on 
soil-land,  sown  early  or  late,  or  a  part  early  anil  a  part  late,  as 
most  convenient.  Sow  broadcast  and  harrow  in,  500  lbs.  of  Pe- 
ruvian guano  per  acre  and  200  U)s.  of  gypsum.  Drill  in  three 
bushels  of  iH'as  per  acre,  or  sow  broadcast,  and  cover  them  with  a 
Shares'  harrow.  Commence  to  feed  the  crop  green  as  soon  as  the 
pods  are  formej,  and  continu  to  fied  out  the  crop,  thresiied  or 
unthreshed,  until  the  middle  of  November.  Up  to  tliis  time  the 
bu,^  do  comparatively  little  damage.  The  pigs  will  thrive  won- 
derfully on  this  crop,  and  make  the  richest  and  best  of  manure. 

1  have  little  faith  in  .ny  attempt  to  raise  root  crops  on  land  not 
previously  well  prepared.  But  as  it  is  necessary  to  have  some 
mangel-wur/el  and  Swede  turnips  for  the  Ayi-shire  cows  and 
long-wool  s'aeep  n^xt  winter  and  spring,  select  the  cleanest  and 
richest  land  that  can  be  found  that  was  under  cultivation  last 
season.  If  fall  plowed,  the  chances  of  success  will  be  doubled. 
Plow  the  land  two  or  three  times,  and  cultivate,  harrow,  and  roll 
until  it  is  as  mellow  as  a  garden.  Sow  400  lbs.  of  Peruvian  guar.o 
and  COO  lbs.  of  good  sup  Tpiiosphale  per  acre  broadcast,  and  har- 
row them  in.  Ri  !ge  up  the  l;;n  1  into  ridges  2i  to  3  ft.  ai)arl,wilh 
a  double  niould-boaril  jdow.  Roll  down  tlie  ridges  with  a  liiiht 
roller,  and  drill  in  the  seed.  Sow  the  mangel-wurzel  in  May — the 
earlier  the  bettor — and  the  Swedes  as  soon  afterwards  as  tiie  land 
can  be  thoroughly  prepared.  Better  delay  until  June  rather  than 
sow  on  rough  land. 

The  first  point  on  such  a  farm  will  be  to  attend  to  the  grassland. 
This  affords  the  most  hopeful  chr.ncc  of  getting  good  returns  the 
first  year.  But  no  tune  is  to  be  lost.  Sow  500  lbs.  of  Peruvian 
guano  per  acre  on  all  the  grass  land  and  on  t'le  clover,  with  200 
lbs.  of  gypsum  in  addition  on  the  latter.  If  this  is  sown  early 
enough,  so  that  the  spring  rains  dissolve  it  and  wash  it  into  the 
soil,  great  crops  of  grass  may  be  expected. 

"  But  will  it  pay  ?  "  My  friend  in  New  Tork  is  a  very  energetic 
and  successful  business  man,  and  he  has  a  real  love  for  farming, 
and  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt  that,  taking  the  New  York  business 
and  the  farm  together,  they  will  afford  a  very  handsome  profit. 
Furtiiermore,  I  have  no  doubt  that  if,  after  he  has  drained  it,  he 


18  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

would  cover  the  whole  farm  witli  500  lbs.  of  Peruvian  guano  per 
acre,  or  its  equivalent,  it  would  pay  him  better  than  any  other 
agricultural  operation  he  is  likely  to  engage  in.  By  the  time  it 
was  on  the  laud  the  cost  would  amount  to  about  $20  per  acre.  If 
he  sells  no  more  grass  or  hay  from  the  farm  than  he  would  sell  if 
he  did  not  use  the  guano,  this  $20  may  very  properly  be  added  to 
the  permanent  capital  invested  in  the  farm.  And  in  this  aspect  of 
the  case,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  it  will  pay  a  high  rate  of 
interest.  Ilis  bill  for  labor  will  be  as  much  in  one  case  as  in  the 
other ;  and  if  he  uses  the  guano  he  will  probably  double  his  crops. 
His  grass  lands  will  carry  twenty  cows  instead  of  ten,  and  if  he 
raises  the  corn-fodder  and  roots,  he  can  probably  keep  thirty  cows 
better  than  he  could  otherwise  keep  a  dozen  ;  and,  having  to  keep 
a  herdsman  in  either  case,  tin  cost  of  labor  will  not  bci  nmch  in- 
creased. "But  you  think  it  will  not  pay?  "  It  will  probably  not 
pay  him.  I  do  not  think  h  s  business  would  paj^  me  if  I  lived  o:i 
my  farm,  and  went  to  New  York  only  once  or  twice  a  week.  If 
there  is  one  business  above  all  others  that  requires  constant  atten- 
tion, it  is  farming — and  especially  stock-farming.  But  my  friend 
is  right  in  saying  that  he  cannot  afford  to  wait  to  enrich  his  land 
by  clover  and  summer-fallowing.  His  land  costs  too  much  ;  he 
has  a  large  barn  and  everything  requisite  to  keep  a  large  stock  of 
cattle  and  sheep.  The  interest  on  farm  and  buildings,  and  the 
money  expended  in  labor,  would  run  on  while  the  dormant  matter 
in  the  soil  was  slowly  becoming  available  under  the  influence  of 
good  tillige.  The  large  birn  must  be  filled  at  once,  and  tlie  only 
way  to  do  this  is  to  apply  manure  with  an  unsparing  hand.  If  he 
lived  on  the  farm,  I  should  have  no  doubt  that,  by  adopting  thia 
course,  and  by  keeping  improved  stock,  and  feeding  liberally,  he 
could  make  money.  Perhaps  he  can  find  a  man  who  will  success- 
fully manage  the  farm  under  his  direction,  but  the  prol)abilitieg 
are  that  his  present  profit  and  pleasure  will  come  from  the  grat- 
ification of  his  early  love  for  country  life. 


WUAT    IS    MANUUK?  19 

C  ir  A  P  T  E  11     II. 
WHAT    IS    MANURE? 

"  What  is  the  good  of  asking  sucli  a  (luestion  as  that  ?  "  said  the 
Deacon  ;  "  we  all  know  what  manure  is." 

"  Well,  then,"  I  replied,  "  tell  us  what  it  is?" 

"  It  is  anything  tluit  will  uuike  crops  grow  better  and  bigger^^  re- 
plied the  Deacon. 

"  That  is  not  a  had  definition,"  .said  I ;  "  but  let  us  see  if  it  is  a 
true  one.  You  have  two  rows  of  cabbage  in  the  garden,  and  you 
water  one  row,  and  the  plants  grow  bigger  and  better.  Is  water 
manure  ?  You  cover  a  plant  with  a  hand-glass,  and  it  grows  big- 
ger and  better.  Is  a  hand-glass  manure  ?  You  shelter  a  few 
plants,  and  they  grow  bigger  and  l)etter.  Is  shelter  manure  ? 
Y'ou  put  some  pure  sand  round  a  few  plants,  and  they  grow  big- 
ger and  better.  Is  pure  sand  manure  ?  I  think  we  shall  hu?e,  to 
reject  the  Deacon's  definition." 

Let  us  hear  what  the  Doctor  has  to  say  on  the  subject. 

"  Manure,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  is  the  food  of  plants.''^ 

"  That  is  a  better  definition,"  sail  I ;  "  but  this  is  really  not 
answering  the  question.  Y'ou  say  manure  is  plant-food.  But 
what  is  plant-food  ?" 

"  Plant-food,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  composed  of  twelve  cle» 
ments,  and,  possibly,  sometimes  one  or  two  more,  which  we  need 
not  here  talk  about.  Four  of  these  elements  are  gases,  oxygen, 
h}'drogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen.  When  a  plant  or  animal  is 
burnt,  these  gases  are  driven  off".  The  ashes  which  remain  are 
composed  of  potash,  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia;  sulphuric  acid, 
phosphoric  acid,  chlorine,  and  silica.  In  other  words,  the  '  food 
of  plants '  is  composed  of  four  onranic,  or  gaseous  elements,  and 
eight  inorganic,  or  mineral  elements,  of  which  four  have  acid  and 
four  alkaline  properties." 

"  Th;ink  you,  Doctor,"  said  the  Dencon,  "  I  am  glad  to  know 
what  manure  is.  It  is  the  food  of  plants,  and  the  food  of  plants 
is  composed  of  four  gases,  four  acid  and  four  alkaline  elements. 
I  seem  to  know  all  about  it.  All  I  have  wanted  to  make  my  land 
rich  was  plenty  of  manure,  and  now  I  shall  know  where  to  get 
it — oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen  ;  these  four  atmos- 
plieric  elements.  Then  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  and  lime.  I 
know  what  these  four  are.    Then  suli)hur,  phosphorous,  silica 


20  TALKS    OX    MANUUES. 

(sand,)  and  chlorine  (sill).  I  sbull  soon  have  rich  land  and  big 
crops." 

Charley,  who  has  r^'ccntly  come  home  from  college,  where  he 
has  been  studying  chemistry,  looi-:ed  at  the  Deacon,  and  was  evi- 
dently puzzlftl  to  understand  him.  Turning  to  the  Doctor,  Char- 
ley asked  nn^deslly  if  what  tlK-  Doctor  had  said  in  regard  to  the 
composition  of  plant  food  could  not  be  sai  1  of  the  composition  of 
all  our  animals  and  plants. 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "all  our  agricultural  plants 
and  all  our  animals,  man  included,  are  compo.sed  of  these  twelve 
elements,  o.xygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen;  pliosphorus, 
sulphur,  silica,  chlorine,  potash,  soda,  niatrnesia,  and  lime." 

Charley  said  something  about  lime,  potash,  and  soda,  not  being 
"elements;"  and  something  al>out  silica  and  chlorine  not  being 
found  in  animals. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  ''  and  he  has  left  out  iron,  which  is  an  important 
constituent  of  all  our  farm  cro|)s  and  animals."  Neither  the  Doc- 
tor nor  t'.ic  Deacon  heard  our  remarks.  The  Deacon,  who  loves 
an  argument,  exclaimed:  "I  thought  I  knew  all  about  it.  You 
told  us  that  manure  was  the  food  of  plants,  and  that  the  food  of 
])lants  was  composed  of  the  above  twelve  elements;  and  now  you 
tell  us  that  man  and  bejust,  fruit  and  flower,  grain  and  grass,  root, 
stem,  and  branch,  all  are  composed  or  made  up  of  these  same 
dozen  elements.  If  I  ask  you  what  bread  is  made  of,  you  say  it 
is  composed  of  the  dozen  elements  aforesaid.  If  I  ask  w  hat  wheat- 
straw  is  made  of,  you  answer,  the  dozen.  If  I  ask  what  a  thistle  is 
made  of,  you  say  the  dozen.  There  are  a  good  many  milk  weeds 
in  my  strawberry  patch,  and  I  am  glad  to  know  tlial  the  milk-weed 
and  the  strawberrv  are  both  eomposeil  of  thi-  same  dozen  elements. 
Manure  is  the  food  of  plants,  and  the  food  of  plants  is  composed 
of  the  above  dozen  elements,  and  every  plant  and  animal  that  we 
eat  is  also  composed  of  these  same  dozen  elements,  and  so  I  sup- 
pose there  is  no  difference  between  an  onion  and  an  omelet,  or 
between  bread  and  milk,  or  between  mangel-wurzel  and  manure." 

"The  difference,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "is  one  of  proportif)n. 
Mangels  and  manure  are  both  compo.sed  of  the  same  elements.  In 
fact,  mangels  make  good  manure,  and  good  manure  makes  good 
mangels." 

The  Deacon  and  tlie  Doctor  sat  down  to  a  game  of  backgam- 
mon, and  Charley  and  I  continued  the  conversation  more  seriously. 


SOMKMIINt;    ABOIT    rLAN'1-FOOD.  21 

C  II  A   P  T  E  K      111. 
SOMETHING    AIJOIT    PI.  A  NT-FOOD. 

"  Tlie  Doclnr  is  in  tlu-  main  c-orrct-t,"  said  1;  "  but  he  doos  not 
fully  au.^wcr  the  (jiKstiun,  '  Wliat  is  inanure  *  '  To  say  tliat  manure 
i.s  plant-food,  do<s  not  cover  the  whole  ground.  All  soils  on  whieh 
planLs  grow,  contain  more  or  less  pluut-food.  A  plant  can  not 
cn-ale  an  atom  of  ]M)tash.  It  can  not  iret  it  from  the  atmos|)heie 
We  find  potash  in  the  pl.-mt,  and  we  know  that  it  got  it  fron)  the 
soil,  and  we  are  certain,  therefore,  that  the  soil  contains  potash. 
And  so  of  all  the  other  mineral  elements  of  jilants.  A  soil  that 
will  produce  a  thistle,  or  a  pig-weed,  contains  plant-food.  And  so 
the  definition  of  the  Doctor  is  defective,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  no 
distinction  between  st)il  and  manun-.     Botli  contain  plant-food." 

"What  is  your  definition  of  manure?"  asked  Charley;  *' it 
would  seem  as  though  we  all  knew  what  manure  was.  W^e  have 
got  a  great  hc.ip  of  it  in  the  yard,  and  it  is  fermenting  nicely." 

"  Yes,"  I  replie  1,  "  we  arc  making  more  manure  on  the  farm  this 
winter  than  ever  before.  Two  hundreil  |)iL:s,  120  large  sheep,  8 
horses,  11  cows,  and  a  hundred  head  of  poultry  make  considerable 
manure  ;  and  it  is  a  good  deal  of  work  to  clean  out  the  pens,  pih;  the 
manure,  draw  it  to  the  field,  and  apply  it  to  the  crops.  We  ought 
to  know  something  about  it  ;  but  we  might  work  among  manure 
all  our  lives,  and  not  know  what  manure  is.  At  any  rate,  we 
mitrht  not  be  able  to  define  it  accurately.  I  will,  however,  try  my 
hand  at  a  definition. 

"  Let  us  assume  that  we  have  a  field  that  is  free  from  stagnant 
water  at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  that  the  soil  is  clean,  mellow, 
and  well  worked  seven  inches  deep,  and  in  good  order  for  putthig 
in  a  crop.  What  the  coming 'sf/z^o/i' will  be  we  know  not.  It 
may  be  what  we  call  a  hot,  dry  summer,  or  it  may  be  cool  and 
moist,  or  it  may  be  partly  one  and  partly  the  other.  The  '  season' 
is  a  great  clement  of  uncertainty  in  all  our  fanning  calculations; 
but  we  know  that  we  shall  have  a  season  of  some  kind.  We  have 
the  promise  of  seed-time  and  harvest,  and  we  have  never  known 
the  promise  to  fail  us.  Crops,  however,  var^'^  very  much,  accord- 
ing to  the  season  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind. 
Let  us  say  that  the  sun  and  heat,  and  rain  and  dews,  or  wh;.t  we 
call  *  the  season,'  is  cajiabie  of  producing  50  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  but  that  the  soil  I  have  described  above,  does  not  produce 
over  20  bushels  per  acre.  There  is  no  mechanical  defect  in  tlie 
boil.     The  seed  is  good,  it  is  put  in  properly,  and  at  the  right  time, 


22  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

and  in  the  best  manner.  No  weeds  choke  the  wheat  plants  or  rob 
them  of  their  food ;  but  that  field  does  not  produce  as  much  wheat 
by  30  bushels  per  acre  as  the  season  is  capable  of  producing. 
WhyV  The  answer  is  evident.  Because  the  wheat  plants  do  not 
find  food  enough  in  the  soil.  Now,  anything  that  will  furnish 
this  food,  anything  that  will  cause  thai  field  to  produce  what  the 
climate  or  season  is  capable  of  producing,  is  manure.  A  gardener 
may  increase  his  crops  by  artificial  heat,  or  by  an  increased  supply 
of  water,  but  this  is  not  manure.  The  effect  is  due  to  improved 
climatic  conditions.  It  has  nothin;^  to  do  with  the  queslioa  of 
manure.  We  often  read  in  the  agricultural  papers  about  '  s/utdc 
as  manure.'  We  might  just  as  well  talk  al)oul  sunlight  as  '  ma- 
nure.' The  effects  observed  shouhl  be  referred  U>  modifications  of 
the  climate  or  season;  an.l  so  in  regard  to  mulching.  A  good 
mulch  may  often  produce  a  larger  increase  of  growth  than  an  ap- 
plication of  manure.  But  mulch,  proper,  is  not  manure.  It  is 
climate.  It  cheeks  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  soil.  We 
might  as  well  speak  of  rain  as  manure  as  to  call  a  mulch  manure. 
In  fact,  an  ordinary  shower  in  summer  Ls  little  more  than  a  mulch. 
It  does  not  reach  the  roots  of  plants ;  and  yet  we  see  the  effect 
of  the  shower  immediately  ia  the  increased  vigor  of  the  plants. 
They  are  full  of  sap,  and  t'.ic  drooping  leaves  look  refreshed.  We 
say  the  rain  has  revived  them,  and  so  it  has  ;  but  probably  not  a 
particle  of  the  rain  has  entered  into  the  circulation  of  the  plant. 
The  rain  checked  evaporation  from  the  soil  and  from  the  leaves. 
A  cool  night  refreshes  the  plants,  and  fills  the  leaves  with  sap,  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  way.  All  these  fertilizing  cflFects,  however, 
behmg  to  climate.  It  is  inaccurate  to  associate  either  mulching, 
sunshine,  shade,  heat,  dews,  or  rain,  with  tlie  question  of  manure, 
though  the  effect  may  in  certain  circumstances  be  precisely  the 
same." 

Charlc}^  evidently  thought  I  was  wandering  from  the  point.  "  You 
think,  then,"  said  he,  "  manure  is  plant-food  thtt  the  so'l  needs f" 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "that  is  a  very  goo  1  definition — very  good, 
indeed,  though  not  absolutely  .iccurate,  because  manure  is  manure, 
whether  a  particular  soil  needs  it  or  not."  Unobserved  by  us,  the 
Deacon  and  the  Doctor  had  been  listening  to  our  talk. — "  I  would 
like,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  hear  you  give  a  better  definition  than 
Charley  has  given." — "  Manure,"  said  I,  "  is  anything  containing 
an  element  or  elements  of  plant-foo  1,  which,  if  the  soil  needed  it. 
Avould,  if  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  in  an  available  con- 
dition, produce,  according  to  soil,  season,  climate,  and  variety,  a 
maximum  crop." 


iTATURAI.    MANCRK.  23 

CHAP  T  E  r,     I  V. 
NATURAL   MANURE. 

We  often  hear  about  "  natural "  manure.  I  do  not  like  the 
term,  though  I  believe  it  originated  with  me.  It  is  not  aceurate; 
not  definite  enougli. 

"  I  do  not  know  wnat  you  moan  by  natural  manure,"  said  the 
Deacon,  "  unless  it  is  tiie  droppings  of  animals." — "  To  distinguish 
them,  I  sui)pose,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  from  artificial  manures,  such 
as  superphospiiate,  sulpliate  of  ammonia,  and  nitrate  of  soda."— 
"  No  ;  that  is  not  how  I  used  the  term.  A  few  years  ago,  we 
used  to  hear  much  in  regard  to  the  'exhaustion  of  soils.'  I 
thought  this  phrase  conveyed  a  wrong  idea.  When  new  land 
produces  large  crops,  and  when,  after  a  few  years,  the  crops  get 
less  and  loss,  we  were  toLl  that  the  farmers  were  exhausting  their 
land.  I  said,  no;  the  farmers  are  not  exhausting  the  koU ;  they 
are  merely  exhausting  the  accumulated  plant-food  in  the  soil.  In 
other  words,  thoy  are  using  up  the  natural  manure. 

"  Take  my  own  farm.  Fifty  j-ears  ago,  it  was  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  maple,  beech,  black  Avalnut,  oak,  and  otlier  trees. 
These  trees  had  shed  annual  crops  of  leaves  for  centuries.  The 
leaves  rot  on  the  ground ;  the  trees  also,  age  after  age.  These 
leaves  and  other  organic  matter  form  wdiat  I  have  called  natural 
manure.  When  the  land  is  cleared  up  and  plowed,  this  natural 
manure  decays  more  rapidly  than  when  the  land  lies  undisturbed ; 
precisely  as  a  manure-pile  will  ferment  and  decay  more  rapidly  if 
turned  occasionally,  and  exposed  to  the  air.  The  plowing  and 
cultivating  renders  this  natural  manure  more  readily  available. 
The  leaves  decompose,  and  furnish  food  for  the  growing  crop." 

EXHAUSTION  OF  THE  SOIL. 

"  You  think,  then,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  when  a  piece  of  land 
is  cleared  of  the  forest,  harrowed,  and  sown  to  wheat ;  plowed 
and  planted  to  corn,  and  the  process  repeated  again  and  again, 
until  the  land  no  longer  yields  profitable  crops,  that  it  is  the 
< natural  manure,'  and  not  the  soil,  that  is  exhausted?" 

"  I  think  the  soil,  at  any  rate,  is  not  exhausted,  and  I  can  easily 
conceive  of  a  case  where  even  the  natural  manure  is  very  far  from 
being  all  used  up." 

"  Why,  then,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  is  the  land  so  poor  that  it 
will  scarcely  support  a  sheep  to  the  acre  ?  " 


24  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

"  Simply  because  the  nalunil  manure'  anl  other  plant-food 
which  the  soil  contains  is  not  in  an  available  condition.  It  lies 
dead  and  inert.  It  is  not  soluble,  and  the  roots  of  the  plants  can- 
not get  enough  of  it  to  enable  theni  to  thrive  ;  and  in  addition  to 
this,  you  will  find  as  a  matter  of  fact  that  these  poor  '  exhausted  ' 
farms  are  infested  with  weeds,  which  rob  the  growing  crops  of  a 
large  part  of  the  scanty  supply  of  avaihiblc  plant-food." 

"But  these  weeds,"  Slid  the  Deacon,  "are  not  removed  from 
the  farm.     They  rot  on  the  land  ;  nothing  is  lost." 

"  True,"  .said  I,  "  but  they,  nevertheless,  rob  the  growing  crops 
of  available  plant-food.  The  annual  supi)ly  of  i)lant-food,  instead 
of  being  used  to  grow  useful  i. hints,  is  usvd  t  j  grow  weeds." 

"I  understand  that,"  siid  the  Deacon,  "but  if  the  weeds  are 
left  on  the  land,  and  the  useful  plants  are  sold,  the  farmer  who 
keeps  his  land  clean  would  e.vhiust  his  land  faster  than  the  care- 
less farmer  who  lets  his  land  lie  until  it  is  overrun  with  thistles, 
briars,  and  pig-weed.  You  agricultural  writers,  who  are  con- 
stantly urging  us  to  farm  better  and  grow  larger  crops,  seem  to 
overlook  this  point.  As  you  know,  I  do  not  tiike  much  stock  in 
chemical  theories  as  applied  to  agriculture,  but  as  you  do,  here  is 
a  little  extract  I  cut  from  an  agricultural  paper,  that  seems  to 
prove  that  the  better  you  work  your  land,  and  the  larger  crops 
you  rai-;e,  the  sooner  you  exhaust  your  land." 

The  Deacon  put  on  his  spectacles,  drew  his  chair  nearer  the 
lamp  on  the  table,  and  read  the  following : 

"  There  is,  on  an  average,  about  one-fourth  of  a  pound  of  potash 
to  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  soil,  and  about  one  eighth  of  a 
pound  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  one-sixteenth  of  a  pound  of  sul- 
phuric acid.  If  the  potatoes  and  the  tops  are  continually  removed 
from  the  soil,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  potash.  If  the  wdieat  and 
straw  are  removed,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  phosphate  of  lime  ; 
if  corn  and  tlie  stalks,  it  will  soon  exhaust  the  sulphuric  acid. 
Unless  there  is  a  rotation,  or  the  material  the  plant  requires  is 
supplied  from  abroad,  your  crops  will  soon  run  out,  though  the 
soil  will  continue  rich  for  other  plants." 

"  That  extract,"  said  I,  "  carries  one  back  twenty-five  years. 
We  used  to  have  article  after  article  in  this  strain.  We  were  told 
that '  always  taking  meal  out  of  the  tub  soon  comes  to  the  bot- 
tom,' and  always  taking  potash  and  phosjihoric  acid  from  the  .soil 
will  soon  exhaust  the  supply.  But,  prdrticdly,  there  is  really  little 
danger  of  our  exhausting  the  land.  It  do  s  not  pay.  The  farm- 
er's resources  will  be  exhausted  long  before  he  can  exhaust  his 
farm." 


NATURAL   MANURE.  25 

"Assuming,"  suiil  tin-  Doctor,  who  is  font!  of  an  argument, 
"  that  tho  above  ^talriiu'iil  is  triu-,  let  us  look  al  tlif  fads.  An 
acre  of  soil,  12  inches  deep,  would  weigh  about  1,G0U  Ions;  and  if, 
as  the  writer  quoted  by  the  Deacon  states,  the  soil  contains  4  ozs. 
of  potash  in  every  100  ll)s.  of  soil,  it  follows  that  an  acre  of  soil, 
12  inches  deep,  contains  ^,000  lbs.  of  potash.  Now,  potatoes  con- 
tain about  20  per  cent  of  diy  matter,  and  this  dry  matter  con- 
tains, say,  4  per  cent  of  ash,  half  of  which  is  potash.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  250  bushels  of  potatoes  contain  about  60  lbs.  of 
potash.  If  we  reckon  that  the  tops  contain  20  lbs.  more,  or  80 
lbs.  in  all,  it  follows  that  tho  acre  of  soil  contains  potash  enough 
to  grow  an  annu<;l  crop  of  2oO  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  for  one 
hundred  years." 

"I  know  farmers,"  i^auX  Charley,  "who  do  not  get  over  50 
bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre,  and  in  that  case  the  potash  would 
last  five  hundred  years,  as  the  weeds  grown  with  the  crop  are  left 
on  the  land,  and  do  not,  according  to  the  Deacon,  exhaust  the 
soil." 

"  Good  for  you,  Charley,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Now  let  us  see 
about  the  phosphoric  acid,  of  which  the  soil,  according  to  the 
above  statement,  contains  only  half  as  much  as  it  contains  of  pot- 
ash, or  4,000  lbs.  per  acre. 

"  A  crop  of  wheat  of  30  bushels  per  acre,"  continued  the  Doc- 
tor, "  contains  in  the  grain  about  26  lbs.  of  asli,  and  we  will  say 
that  half  of  this  ash  is  p'.iosphoric  acid,  or  13  lbs.  Allowing  that 
the  straw,  chaff,  etc.,  contain  7  lbs.  more,  we  remove  from  the  soil 
in  a  crop  of  wheat  of  30  bushels  per  acre,  20  lbs.  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  so,  according  to  the  above  estimate,  an  acre  of  soil  con- 
tains phosphoric  aci:!  to  produce  annually  a  crop  of  wheat  and 
straw  of  30  bushels  per  acre  for  two  hundred  years. 

"  The  writer  of  the  paragraph  quoted  by  the  Deacon,"  continued 
the  Doctor,  "  selected  the  crops  and  elements  best  suited  to  his 
purpose,  and  yet,  according  to  his  owti  estimate,  there  is  sufficient 
potash  and  phosplioric  arid  in  the  first  12  inches  of  the  soil  to 
enable  us  to  raise  unusually  large  crops  until  the  nevt  Centennial 
in  1976. 

"  But  let  us  take  another  view  of  the  subject,"  continued  the 
Doctor.  "  No  intelligent  farmer  removes  all  the  potatoes  and 
tops,  all  the  wheat,  straw,  and  chaff,  or  all  the  corn  and  stalks  from 
his  farm.  According  to  Dr.  S  disbnry,  a  crop  of  com  of  75  bush- 
els per  acre  removes  from  the  soil  600  lbs.  of  ash,  but  the  (/rain 
contains  only  46  lbs.  The  other  oo4  lbs.  is  contained  in  the  stalks, 
etc.,  all  of  which  are  usually  retained  on  the  farm.  It  follows 
2 


26  TALKS    ON    MAXCRKS. 

from  t^li^^,  tliat  wiicn  mily  llic  ;,'r;iiii  is  sold  oil'  the  farm,  it  tiikcs 
more  than  tliirlet'U  crops  to  remove  as  imuh  mineral  mallLr  from 
the  soil  as  is  contained  in  the  whole  of  one  crop.  Airain,  the  ash 
of  the  irrain  contains  less  than  3  per  cent  of  sulphuiic  acid,  so 
that  the  4(5  Ihs.  of  ash,  in  7.}  i)ushels  of  corn,  <H)nlains  less  than  li 
lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  thus,  if  an  a;re  of  soil  contains  2,()()() 
lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  we  have  sullicient  for  an  annual  croj)  of  To 
bushels  per  acre  f(;r  fifteen  hundred  years  ! 

"As  I  said  before,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  intelligent  farmers 
sellom  sell  their  straw,  and  they  frequently  purchase  and  consume 
on  the  farm  nearly  as  much  bran,  shorts,  etc.,  as  is  sent  to  market 
with  tlie  ijrain  they  sell.  In  the  '  Natural  History  <tf  New  York,' 
it  is  stated  that  an  acre  of  wheat  in  Western  New  York,  of  30 
bushels  per  acre,  including  straw,  chaff,  etc.,  removes  from  the 
soil  144  lbs.  of  mineral  mattrr.  Gene.'jec  wheat  usually  yields 
about  80  per  cent  of  flour.  This  tlour  contains  only  0.7  per  cent 
of  mineral  matter,  while  tine  middlings  contain  4  per  cent;  coarse 
middlings,  ok  per  cent;  sliorts,  8  per  cent,  and  bran  8J  per  cent 
of  mineral  matter  or  ash.  It  follows  from  this,  that  out  of  the  144 
<bs.  of  mineral  matter  in  the  crop  of  wheat,  le.ss  than  10  ll)s.  is 
contained  in  the  flo;:r.  The  remaining  134  lbs.  is  found  in  the 
straw,  chaff,  bran,  :-horls,  etc.,  which  a  good  farmer  is  almost  sure 
to  feed  out  on  his  farm.  Hut  even  if  the  farmer  feeds  out  none  of 
his  wjieat-bran,  but  sells  it  all  with  his  wheat,  the  30  busliels  of 
wheat  remove  from  the  soil  only  20  lbs.  of  mineral  matter;  and  it 
would  take  more  than  five  crops  to  remove  as  much  mineral  mat- 
ter as  one  crop  of  wheat  and  straw  contains.  Allowing  that  half 
the  as'.i  of  wheat  is  plios[ihoric  acid,  30  bushels  remove  only  13 
lbs.  from  the  soil,  and  if  the  soil  contains  4,000  lbs.,  it  will  take 
three  hundred  and  seven  crops,  of  30  bushels  each,  to  exhau.st  it." 

"  That  is  to  say,"  said  Charier,  "  if  all  the  straw  and  chaff  is  re- 
tained on  the  farm,  and  is  returned  to  the  land  without  loss  of 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctctr,  "  a  id  if  .ill  f.;e  bran  and  short."?,  etc., 
were  retained  on  the  f.irm,  it  wo:dd  take  eight  hundred  crojis  to 
exhaust  the  soil  of  phosphoric  acid;  and  it  is  admitted  that  of  all 
the  elements  of  plant-food,  phosphoric  acid  is  the  one  first  to  be 
exhausteil  from  the  soil." 

I  have  sold  some  timothy  hay  this  winter,  and  propose  to  do  so 
whenever  the  price  suits.  But  some  of  my  neighbors,  who  do 
not  hesitate  to  sell  their  own  hay,  tliink  I  ought  not  to  do  so, 
because  I  "  write  for  the  ]iapors"!  It  ought  to  satisfy  tliem  to 
know  that  I  bring  back  30  cwt.  of  bran  for  every  ton  of  hay  I 


NATl  liAL    MANUIJE.  27 

.vll.  .My  mil-  is  to  sril  iintliiiii,'  liiil  \\  .iiat,  liail<  y,  Ix'aiis,  pntalocs, 
clttvrrsfed,  :i|)|)lis,  woul,  iiiiitloii,  Ixn",  l»'>rk,  ami  biilttr.  Kvcry- 
tliiiiij  else  is  (■oiisiiiiiiil  <>n  Uk-  farm  -corn,  |>fu>,  oats,  mustard, 
rape,  niaiim-ls,  clover,  straw,  stalks,  etc.  L<t  us  make  a  n>uj;li 
estitnate  of  liow  much  is  sold  and  li<t\v  inucli  retiiined  on  a  iiun- 
dre«l-acre  farm,  leaving;  out  the  potatoes,  bcaus,  and  live-stock. 
We  have  sjiy : 
Sold. 

15  acres  wlu-at,  (a  40  Imsluls  per  acre IH    tons 

5     "     t)arlcy,  (ff  50         "  *'         fl       " 

15     "     i-l<»ver  sH-ed,  4       "  "         U  ton. 

Total  sold 'S)l  tons. 

Retained  on  the  fann. 

15  acres  corn,  (n  80  bushels  per  acre 'A^l  tons. 

Com  stalks  from  ilo -JO  " 

5  acres  barley  straw 8  " 

10     "      oats  und  pcus,  equal  HO  bushels  of  oats iLl  " 

Straw  fn)m  do A)  " 

15  .icres  wheat-straw 25  " 

15     "      clover-hay 'i-">  " 

Clover-sted  straw 10  " 

15  acres  p:isture  and  mcailow,  equal  40  tons  hay 4(i  " 

5     "      mustard,  equal  1(»  tons  hay 10  " 

5     "      rape,  equal  10  tons  hay 10  " 

5     "      HianjieU,  25  tons  per  acre,  equal  to  3  Ions  dry 15  " 

Leaves  from  do ;{  " 

Total  retained  on  the  farm 2521  tons. 

It  would  tike  a  srood  many  j-ears  to  exhaust  any  ordinary  soil 
by  such  a  course  of  croppimr.  Except,  ]MThaps,  the  sandy  knolls, 
I  think  there  i.i  not  an  acre  on  my  fariu  that  would  be  exhausted 
in  ten  thousand  years,  and  as  some  portions  of  the  low  alluvial 
soil  will  iTfow  crops  witiiout  manure,  there  will  be  an  opportui.ity 
to  jjive  the  poor,  sandy  knolls  more  than  their  share  of  plant-food. 
In  this  way,  notwithstanding:  the  fact  that  we  sell  proiluce  and 
brin<T  nothing  back,  I  believe  the  whole  farm  will  pradually 
increase  in  productiveness.  The  plant-food  annually  rendered 
available  from  the  decomposition  and  disintecration  of  the  inert 
orijanic  and  mineral  matter  in  the  soil,  will  be  more  than  ec(ual  to 
that  exporteil  from  the  farm.  If  the  soil  becomes  deficient  in  any- 
thing-, it  is  likely  that  it  will  be  in  phosphates,  and  a  little  super- 
phosphate or  bone-dust  miirlit  at  any  rate  be  profitably  used  en 
ihe  rape,  mustard,  and  turnips. 

The  point  in  good  farmi;i.r  is  to  develop  fr(un  the  latent  stores 


28  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

in  the  soil,  and  to  accumulate  enou;j;h  available  i)laut-foo(l  for  the 
production  of  the  largest  possible  yield  of  those  crops  which  we 
sell.  In  other  words,  we  want  tnough  available  plant-food  ia  the 
soil  to  grow  40  bushels  of  wheat  and  50  bushels  of  barley.  I  think 
the  farmer  who  raises  10  tons  for  every  ton  he  sells,  will  .soon 
reach  this  point,  and  when  once  reached,  it  is  a  comparatively 
2agy  matter  to  maintain  this  degree  of  fertility. 

WHY  OUK   CROPS  .VRE  SO  POOR. 

"  If  the  soil  is  so  rich  in  plant-food,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  again 
ask,  why  are  our  crops  so  poor  ?  " 

The  Deacon  said  this  very  quietly.  lie  did  not  seem  to  know 
that  he  had  asked  one  of  the  most  important  questions  in  the 
whole  range  of  agricultui-al  science.  It  is  a  fact  that  a  soil  may 
contain  enough  plant-food  to  produce  a  thousand  large  (;rops,  and 
yet  the  crops  we  obtain  from  it  may  be  so  poor  as  hardl}'  to  pay 
the  cost  of  cultivation.  The  i)lant-food  is  there,  but  the  plants 
cannot  get  at  it.  It  ia  not  in  an  available  condition  ;  it  is  not  sol- 
uble. A  case  is  cpioted  by  Prof.  Johnson,  where  a  soil  was  an- 
alyzed, and  found  to  contain  to  the  depth  of  one  foot  4,652  lbs.  of 
nitrogen  per  acre,  but  only  03  lbs.  of  this  was  in  an  available  con- 
dition. And  this  is  equallj''  true  of  phosplioric  acid,  potash,  and 
other  elements  of  plant-food.  No  matter  how  much  plant-food 
there  may  be  in  the  soil,  the  only  portion  that  is  of  any  immediate 
value  is  the  small  amount  that  is  annually  available  for  the  growth 
of  crops. 

HOW  TO   GET  LARGER  CROPS. 

"  I  am  tired  of  i^o  much  talk  about  plant-food,"  said  the  Deacon ; 
"  what  we  want  to  know  is  how  to  make  our  land  produce  larger 
crops  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  clover,  and  grass." 

This  is  precisely  what  I  am  trying  to  show.  On  my  own  farm, 
the  three  leading  objects  are  (1)  to  get  the  land  drained,  (2)  to  make 
it  clean  and  mellow,  and  (3)  to  get  available  nitrogen  for  the  cereal 
crops,  iv'ter  t'.ie  first  two  objects  are  accomplished,  the  measure 
of  productiveness  will  be  determined  by  the  amount  of  available 
nitrogen  ii  the  soil.  Ilon-  to  get  available  nitrogen,  therefore,  is 
my  chief  and  ultimate  object  in  all  the  operations  on  the  farm, 
and  it  is  here  that  science  can  help  me.  I  know  how  to  get  nitro- 
gen, but  I  want  to  get  it  in  the  cheapest  way,  and  then  to  be  sure 
that  I  do  not  waste  it. 

There  is  one  fact  fully  estiiblislie  1  l)y  repeited  experiment  and 
general  experience — that  80  lbs.  of  available  nitrogen  per  acre, 


SWAMr-MlOIv    OK    PEAT    AS    MANURE.  20 

applied  in  inaniirc,  will  alinusl  iiivaiiahly  ijivc  us  a  iircally  in- 
crcasccl  yifUl  (if  i^r.uii  cioiks.  1  slioukl  expect,  on  my  farm,  that 
on  land  wiiieli,  without  n)ainire,  would  give  me  15  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  such  a  dressing  of  manure  would  give  me,  in  a  favorable 
season,  35  or  40  bushels  i)er  acre,  with  a  proportional  increase  of 
straw  ;  and,  in  additio.i  to  this,  there  would  be  considerable  nitro- 
gen left  for  the  followmg  crop  of  clover.  Is  it  not  worth  while 
making  an  earnest  effort  to  get  this  80  lbs.  of  available  nitrogen  ? 

I  have  on  my  farm  many  acres  of  low,  muck}-  land,  bordering 
on  the  creek,  that  probably  contain  several  thousand  jiounds  of 
nitrogen  per  acre.  So  long  as  the  land  is  surcharged  w  ith  water, 
this  nitrogen,  and  other  plant- food,  lies  dormant.  But  drain  it, 
and  let  in  tlie  air,  and  t!ie  oxygen  decomposes  the  organic  matter, 
and  ammonia  and  nitric  acid  are  produced.  In  other  words,  we 
get  amilable  nitrogen  and  other  plant-food,  and  the  land  becomes 
capable  of  producing  large  crops  of  corn  and  grass  ;  and  the  crops 
obtained  from  this  low,  rich  land,  will  make  manure  for  the  poorer, 
upland  portions  of  the  farm. 


CHAPTER     V. 
SWAMP-MUCK    OR    PEAT    AS   MANURE. 

"  It  would  pay  you,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  draw  out  200  or  300 
loads  of  muck  from  the  swamp  every  year,  and  compost  it  with 
your  manure." 

This  may  or  may  not  be  the  case.  It  depends  on  tlie  composi- 
tion of  the  muck,  and  how  much  labor  it  takes  to  handle  it. 

"  What  you  should  do,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  to  commence  at 
the  creek,  and  straighten  it.  Take  a  gang  of  men,  and  be  with 
them  with  yourself,  or  get  a  good  foreman  to  direct  operations. 
Commence  at  n,  and  straighten  the  creek  to  b,  and  from  b  to  c  (see 
map  on  next  page).  Throw  all  the  rich,  black  muck  in  a  heap  by 
itself,  separate  from  the  sand.  You,  or  your  foreman,  must  be 
there,  or  you  will  not  get  this  done.  A  good  ditcher  will  throw  out 
a  great  mass  of  this  loose  muck  and  sand  in  a  day ;  and  you  want 
him  to  dig,  not  think.  You  must  do  the  thinking,  and  tell  him 
which  is  muck,  and  which  is  onl}-  sand  and  dirt.  When  thrown 
up,  this  muck,  in  our  dry,  hot  climate,  will,  in  the  course  of  a  few 


no 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


months,  part  with  a  large  amount  of  water,  and  it  can  then  be  drawn 
to  the  barns  and  stabhs,  and  used  for  bedding,  or  for  composting 
with  manure.  Or  if  you  do  not  want  to  draw  it  to  tlie  barn,  get 
8ome  refuse  lime  from  the  lime-kiln,  and  mix  it  with  the  muek 
after  it  has  been  thrown  up  a  few  weeks,  and  is  partially  dry. 
Turn  over  the  lieap,  and  put  a  few  bushels  of  lime  to  every  cord 
of  the  muck,  mixing  the  lime  and  muck  together,  leaving  the  heap 
in  a  compact  form,  and  in  good  shape,  to  shed  the  rain. 

"  When  you  have  straightened,  and  cleaned  out,  and  deepened 
the  creek,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "commence  at  2  on  the  new 
creek,  and  cut  a  ditch  tlirougli  the  swamp  to  y.  Throw  the  muck 
on  one  side,  and  the  sand  on  the  other.     Tliis  will  giv«  you  some 


y 

MAP  OF   CREEK. 


->v 


good,  rich  muck,  and  at  the  same  time  drain  3'our  swamp.  Then 
cut  some  under-drains  from  y  towards  llie  higher  land  at  it,  v,  and 
h,  and  from  /to  t.  These  will  drain  your  land,  and  set  free  the 
inert  plant-food,  and  such  crops  of  timothy  as  you  will  get  from 
this  swamp  will  astonish  the  natives,  and  your  bill  for  medical  at- 
tendance and  quinine  will  sink  to  zero." 

The  Doctor  is  right.     There  is  money  and  health  in  the  plan. 

Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  as  chemist  to  the  Conn.  State  Ag.  Society, 
made  accurate  analyses  of  33  samples  of  peat  and  muck  sent  him 
by  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  the  State.     The  amount  of 


WHAT    IS    POTENTIAL    AMMONIA?  31 

potential  ammonia  in  the  choniiially  dry  peat  was  found  to  vary 
from  0.58  in  the  poorest,  to  4.0G  per  cent  in  the  richest  samples. 
In  other  words,  one  deposit  of  muck  may  contain  seven  times  as 
much  nitrogen  as  another,  and  it  would  be  well  before  spei.ding 
much  money  in  drawing  out  muck  for  manure  to  send  a  sample  of 
it  to  some  good  chemist.  A  bed  of  swamp-muck,  easily  acces- 
sible, and  containinLT  3  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  would  be  a  mine  of 
wealth  to  any  farmer.  One  ton  of  such  muck,  dr^',  would  contain 
more  nitrogen  than  7  tons  of  straw. 

"  It  would  be  ca[)ilal  stuff,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  put  in  your 
pig-pens  to  absorb  the  urine.     It  would  make  rich  manure." 

"That  is  so,"  said  1,  "and  the  weak  point  in  my  pig  l)reeding  is 
the  want  of  sufficient  straw.  Pigs  use  up  more  bedding  than  any 
other  animals.  I  have  over  200  pigs,  and  I  could  use  a  ton  of  dry 
muck  to  each  pig  every  winter  to  great  advantage.  The  pens 
would  be  drier,  the  pigs  healthier,  and  the  manure  richer." 

The  Doctor  here  interrupted  us.  "I  see,"  said  he,  "that  tlic 
average  amount  of  ammonia  in  the  33  samples  of  dry  peat  analyzed 
by  Professor  Joiinson  is  2.07  per  cent.  I  had  no  idea  that  muck  was 
so  rich.  Bani  yard  manure,  or  the  manure  from  the  horse  stal)les  in 
the  cities,  contains  only  half  a  per  cent  (O.o)  of  ammonia,  and  it  is 
an  unusually  rich  manure  that  contains  one  per  cent.  We  are  safe 
in  saying  tl<al  a  ton  of  dry  muck,  on  the  average,  contains  at  least 
twice  as  much  potential  ammonia  as  the  average  of  our  best  and 
richest  stable-manure." 


CHAPTER     VI. 
WHAT   IS   POTENTIAL   AMMONIA? 

"  You  say,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  dry  muck  contains  twice  as 
much  '^ potential  ammonia^  as  manure?' ' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  it  contains  three  or  four  times  as 
much  as  the  half-rotted  straw  and  stalks  you  call  manure." 

"But  what  do  you  mean,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "by  'potential 
ammonia? ' " 

■'  It  is  a  term,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  we  used  to  hear  much  more  fre- 
quently than  we  do  now.  Ammonia  is  composed  of  14  lbs.  of 
nitrogen  and  3  lbs.  of  hydrogen ;  and  if,  on  analysis,  a  guano  or 


32  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

Other  manure  was  found  to  contain,  in  \vli:itcver  form,  7  per  cent 
of  nitrof^en,  tlie  clieniist  reported  that  lie  found  in  it  8i  per  cent 
of  'potential'  ammonia.  Dried  blood  contains  no  ammonia,  but 
if  it  contained  14  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  the  chemist  would  be  justi- 
fied in  saying  it  contained  17  per  cent  of  potential  ammonia,  from 
the  fact  that  tlie  dried  blood,  by  fermentation,  is  capable  of  yield- 
ing this  amount  of  ammonia.  We  say  a  ton  of  conmion  horse- 
manure  contains  10  or  12  lbs.  of  potential  ammonia.  If  perfectly 
fresh,  it  may  not  conUiin  a  particle  of  ammonia ;  bat  it  contains 
nitrogen  enough  to  produce,  by  fermentation,  10  or  12  lbs.  of  am- 
monia. And  when  it  is  said  that  drj'  swamp-muck  coiitains,  on 
the  average,  2.07  per  cent  of  potential  ammonia,  it  simply  means 
that  it  contains  nitrogen  enoui:h  to  produce  this  amount  of  am- 
monia. In  point  of  fact,  I  suppose  muck,  when  dug  fresh  from 
the  swamp,  contains  no  ammonia.  Ammonia  is  quite  .soluble  in 
water,  and  if  there  was  any  ammonia  in  the  swamp-muck,  it 
would  soon  be  wasiied  out.  The  nitrogen,  or  '  jjotcntial  ammonia,' 
in  the  muck  exists  in  an  inert,  insoluble  form,  ar.d  bef<»rc  the 
muck  will  yield  up  this  nitrogen  to  plants,  it  is  neceasary,  in  some 
way,  to  ferment  or  decompose  it.  But  this  is  a  point  we  will 
discuss  at  a  future  meeting." 


CHAPTER     VII. 
TILLAGE    IS   MANURE. 

The  Doctor  has  been  invited  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  manure 
before  our  local  Farmers'  Club.  "  The  etymological  meaning  of 
the  word  manure,"  he  said,  "  is  hand  labor,  from  main,  hand,  and 
outrer,  to  work.  To  manure  the  land  originally  meant  to  culti- 
vate it,  to  hoe,  to  dig,  to  plow,  to  harrow,  or  stir  it  in  any  way  so 
as  to  expose  its  particles  to  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  ano 
thus  render  its  latent  elements  assimilable  by  plants. 

"  When  our  first  parent,"  he  continued,  "  was  sent  forth  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden  to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken, 
he  probably  did  not  know  that  the  means  necessary  to  kill  the 
thorns  and  thistles  enhanced  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  yet 
such  was  undoubtedly  the  case. 


tili.a(;k  is  mamrk.  33 

"  The  fariiuT  for  centuries  was  simply  a  '  tiller  of  tlic  ^rouiul.' 
Guano,  tli<MigU  fonneci,  acconlinir  to  souie  eminent  authorities, 
long  ages  before  the  erealion  of  man,  was  not  then  known.  The 
coprolites  lay  undisturbed  in  countless  numbers  in  the  lias,  the 
greensand,  and  the  Sutlblk  crag.  Charleston  pliosphates  were 
unknown.  Superphosphate,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  nitrate  of  soda, 
and  kainit  were  not  dreamed  of.  Nothing  was  said  aV)out  the 
mineral  manure  theory,  or  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  There  were 
no  frauds  in  artificial  fertilizers;  no  Experiment  Stations  The 
earth,  fresh  from  the  hands  of  its  Creator,  neeiicd  only  to  be 
'tickled  with  a  hoe  to  laugh  with  a  harvest.'  Nothing  was  .siid 
about  the  value  of  the  manure  obtained  from  the  consumjjlion  of 
a  ton  of  oil-cake,  or  malt  combs,  or  bran,  or  clover  hay.  For 
many  centuries,  the  hoe,  the  spade,  and  the  rake  constituted 
Adam's  whole  stock  in  trade. 

"At  length,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "a  great  discovery  was 
made.  A  Roman  farmer — proltably  a  prominent  Granger — stum- 
bled on  a  mighty  truth.  Manuring  the  land — that  is,  hoeing  and 
cultivating  it— inereased  its  fertility.  This  was  well  known— had 
been  known  for  ag(s,  and  acted  ui)on  ;  but  this  Roman  farmer, 
Stereutius,  who  was  a  dose  observer,  discovered  that  the  dropping^ 
of  animala  had  th*  same  cfTect  as  hoeing.  No  wonder  these  idol- 
atrous people  voted  him  a  god.  They  thought  there  would  be  no 
more  old-fashioned  manuring;  no  more  hoeing. 

"  Of  course  they  were  mistaken,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  our 
arable  land  will  always  need  plowing  and  cultivating  to  kill 
weeds.  Manure,  in  the  .sense  in  which  we  now  use  the  term,  is 
only  a  partial  substitute  for  tillage,  and  tillage  is  only  a  partial 
substitute  for  manure;  but  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
words  mean  the  same  thing,  and  tlie  effects  of  both  are,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  identical.     Tillage  is  manure,  and  manure  is  tillage." 


34  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
SUMMER-FALLOWING. 

This  is  not  tlio  place  to  discuss  the  merits,  or  demerits,  of  fallow 
ing.  But  an  IntilliL'^ent  (3hio  farmer  writes  me  : — "  I  see  tint  you 
reconimcud  fallow  plowing,  what  are  your  reasons  ?  Granting 
that  the  immediate  result  is  an  increased  crop,  is  not  tlic  land  im- 
poverished y  Will  not  the  thorough  cultivation  of  corn,  or  pota- 
toes, answer  as  well  ?  "  And  a  distinguished  farmer,  of  this  State, 
in  a  recent  communication  expressed  the  same  idea — that  summer- 
fallowing  would  soon  impoverish  the  land.  But  if  this  is  the  case, 
the  fault  is  not  in  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing,  but  in  growing 
too  many  grain  crops,  and  selling  them,  instead  of  consuming  them 
on  the  farm.  Take  two  fields;  summer-fallow  one,  and  sow  it  to 
wheat.  Plant  the  other  to  corn,  and  sow  wheat  after  it  in  the  fall. 
You  get,  say  35  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  from  the  summer-fallow. 
From  the  other  field  you  get,  say,  30  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per 
acre,  and  10  bushels  of  wheat  afterwards.  Now,  where  a  farmer 
is  in  the  habit  of  selling  all  his  wheat,  and  consuming  all  his  corn 
on  the  farm,  it  is  evident  that  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing 
will  impoverish  the  soil  more  rapidly  than  the  system  of  growing 
corn  followed  by  wheat — and  for  the  simple  reason  that  more 
wheat  is  sold  from  the  farm.  If  no  more  grain  is  sold  in  one  case 
than  in  the  other,  the  summer-fallowing  will  not  impoverish  the 
soil  any  more  than  corn  growing. 

My  idea  of  fallowing  is  this: — The  soil  and  the  atmosphere 
furnish,  on  good,  well  cultivated  land,  plant-food  sufficient,  say,  for 
15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  every  year.  It  will  be  sometimes 
more,  and  sometimes  less,  according  to  the  season  and  the  character 
of  the  soil,  but  on  good,  strong  limestone  land  this  may  be  taken 
as  about  the  avera-^e.  To  grow  wheat  every  year  in  crops  of  15 
bushels  per  acre,  would  impoverish  the  soil  just  as  much  as  to 
summer-fallow  and  get  30  bushels  of  wheat  every  other  year.  It 
is  the  same  thing  in  either  case.  But  in  summer-fallowing,  we 
clean  the  bind,  and  the  firofits  from  a  crop  of  30  bushels  per  acre 
every  other  year,  are  much  more  than  from  two  crops  of  15  bush- 
els every  year.  You  know  that  Mr.  Lawes  has  a  field  of  about 
thirteen  acres  that  he  sows  with  wheat  every  year.  On  the  plot 
that  receives  no  manure  of  any  kind,  the  crop,  for  twenty  years, 
averaged  16^  bushels  per  acre.    It  is  plowed  twice  every  year,  and 


SUMMER-FALLOW  I XG.  35 

the  wheat  is  hand-liocd  in  the  spriiiir  to  kecj)  it  tieau.  A  few  years 
a^o,  ill  a  tieUl  ailjoiiiin^  tliis  experimental  wheal  ticlil,  and  that  is 
of  iLe  same  charueler  of  laud,  he  made  the  followinii  ixperimcnt. 
The  land,  after  wheat,  was  fal.owed,  and  then  !-own  to  wheat; 
then  fallowed  the  next  year,  and  again  sown  to  wheat,  and  the  next 
year  it  was  sown  to  wiieat  after  wheat.  Tlie  followinij:  is  the  re- 
sult compared  with  the  yield  of  the  continuously  unmanured  plot 
in  the  experimental  field  that  is  sown  to  wheat  every  year: 

1.  Year— No.  1— Fallow No  cro|). 

No.  3 — Wheat  after  wheat \'>  bushels  3t  peeks  per  acre. 

2.  Ykar-No.  1— Wheat  after  fallow 87        "        —      "  " 

No.  ;i— Wlieat  aftir  wliciit Vi        "        3i      "  *' 

3.  Year — No.  1 — Fallow  aftt-r  wheat No  crop. 

No.  2 — Wheat  after  wheat 1.5  busliels  3i  pecks  per  acre. 

4.  Year— No.  1— Wheat  after  fallow 42        "       —     "  " 

No.  3— Wheat  after  wheat 21        "       (li      "  " 

5.  Year— No.  1— Wheat  after  wheat 17        "        11      "  " 

No.  3 — Wheat  after  wheat 17        "       —  " 

Taking  the  first  four  years,  we  have  a  total  yield  from  the  plot 
sown  every  year  of  06  bushels  2^^  i)eeks,  and  from  the  two  crops 
alternately  fallowed,  a  total  yield  of  79  bushels.  The  next  year, 
when  wheat  was  sown  after  wheat  on  the  land  previonsly  fallowed, 
the  yield  was  almost  identical  with  the  yield  from  the  plot  that  has 
grown  wheat  after  wheat  for  so  many  years. 

So  far,  these  results  do  not  indicate  any  exhaustion  from  the 
practice  of  fallowing.  On  the  other  hand,  they  tend  to  show  that 
we  can  get  more  wheat  by  sowing  it  every  other  year,  than  by 
cropi^ing  it  every  year  in  succession.  The  reason  for  this  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  in  a  fallow  the  land  is  more  frequently  ex- 
posed to  the  atmosphere  by  repeated  plowingsand  harrowings;  and 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  effect  of  stirring  the  land  is  not 
necessarily  in  proportion  to  tlic  total  amount  of  stirring,  but  is 
according  to  the  number  of  times  that  fresh  particles  of  soil  are 
exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  Two  plowings  and  two  harrowings 
in  one  week,  will  not  do  as  much  good  as  two  plowings  and  two 
harrowings,  at  diffr^rent  times  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  months. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  object,  theoretically,  to  sowing  wheat 
after  barley.  We  often  plow  the  barley  stubble  twice,  and  spend 
ci'isi'lerablc  labor  in  getting  the  land  into  good  condition  ;  but  it 
is  generally  all  done  in  the  course  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks.  We 
do  not  get  any  adequate  benefit  for  this  labor.  We  can  kill  weeds 
readily  at  this  season,  (Aurust),  Imt  the  stirring  of  the  soil  does 
not  develope  the  latent  plant-food  to  the  extent  it  would  if  the 


36  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

work  was  not  necessarily  done  in  such  a  limited  period.  I  say 
theoreticully,  for  in  point  of  fact  I  do  sow  wheat  after  barley.  1  do 
so  because  it  is  very  couvenieut,  and  because  it  is  more  immediately 
profitable.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  in  the  end  it  would  be 
more  profitable  to  seed  down  the  barley  with  clover. 

We  must  raise  larger  crops;  and  to  do  this  we  must  raise  tliem 
less  frequently.  This  is  the  key-note  of  the  coming  improved 
system  of  American  agriculture,  in  all  sections  where  good  land  is 
worth  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  large  cities,  and  wherever  laud  commands  a  high  price,  we  must 
keep  our  farms  in  a  high  state  of  fertii.'ty  by  the  purchase  of 
manures  or  cattle  foods.  Those  of  us  in  the  interior,  where  we 
can  not  buy  manure,  must  raise  fewer  grain  crops,  and  more  clover. 
We  must  aim  to  raise  40  bushels  of  wheat,  50  bushels  of  barley,  80 
bushels  of  oats,  and  100  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  and  5  bushels  of 
clover-seed  per  acre.  That  this  can  be  done  on  good,  well-dr  .ined 
laud,  from  the  unaided  resources  of  the  farm,  I  have  no  doubt.  It 
may  give  us  no  more  grain  to  sell  than  at  present,  but  it  will  enable 
us  to  pro. luce  much  more  mutton,  wool,  beef,  cheese,  butter,  and 
pork,  tlian  at  present. 

"But,  then,  will  there  be  a  demand  for  the  meat,  wool,  etc.?" 
Tlie  present  indications  are  higidy  favorable.  But  we  must  aim 
to  raise  good  meat.  The  low-priced  beef  and  mutton  sold  in  our 
markets  are  as  unprofitable  to  the  consumer  as  they  are  to  the  pro- 
ducer. We  must  feed  higher,  and  to  do  tliis  to  advantage  we  must 
have  improved  stock.  There  is  no  profit  in  farming  without  good 
tillage,  larger  crops,  improved  stock,  and  higlier  feeding.  Tiie  de- 
tails will  be  modified  by  circumstances,  but  the  principles  are  the 
same  wherever  agn-cidture  is  practised. 


UOW   TO    KESTOUK    A    WUU>-OUT    FARM.  37 

C  11  A  1'  T  E  R    IX. 
HOW   TO   RESTORE   A   WORN-OUT   FARM. 

I  liave  never  yet  seen  a  "  woriiout "  or  "  exhausted  farm."  I 
know  many  farms  that  are  "  run  down."  1  bougiit  just  such  a 
farm  a  dozen  or  more  years  ago,  j.nd  1  have  been  trying  hard,  ever 
since,  to  bring  it  up  to  aprotitauie  standard  of  productiveness — and 
am  still  trying,  and  expect  to  have  to  keep  on  trying  so  hmg  as  I 
keep  on  fannuig.  The  trutli  is,  there  never  was  a  farm  so  rich, 
that  the  farmer  did  not  wish  it  was  richer. 

I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  hirger  part  of  my  farm  much 
more  productive  than  it  ever  was  before,  sii.ce  it  was  cleared  from 
the  orijrinal  forest.  But  it  is  far  from  being  as  rich  as  1  want  it. 
The  truth  is,  God  sent  us  into  this  world  to  work,  and  lie  has 
given  us  plenty  to  do,  if  we  will  only  do  it.  At  any  rate,  this  is 
true  of  farming.  He  has  not  given  us  land  ready  to  our  hand. 
The  man  who  first  cleared  up  my  farm,  had  no  easy  task.  lie 
fairly  earned  all  the  good  crops  he  ever  got  from  it.  I  have  never 
begrudged  him  one  particle  of  the  "  natural  manure  "  he  took  out 
of  the  land,  in  the  fonu  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  and  hay.  On  the 
dry,  sandy  knolls,  he  i)robably  got  out  a  good  portion  of  this 
natural  manure,  but  on  the  wetter  and  heavier  portions  of  the  farm, 
he  probably  did  not  get  out  one-hundredth  part  of  the  natural 
manure  which  the  land  contained. 

Now,  when  such  a  farm  came  into  my  possession,  what  was  I  to 
do  with  it  ? 

"Tell  us  what  you  did,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and  then,  perhaps, 
we  can  tell  you  what  you  ought  to  have  done,  and  what  you  ought 
to  have  left  undone." 

"  I  made  many  mistakes." 

"Amen,"  said  the  Deacon;  "T  am  glad  to  hear  you  acknowl- 
edge it." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Doctor,  "it  is  better  to  make  mistakes  in  trying 
to  do  something,  than  to  hug  our  self-esteem,  and  fold  our  hands 
in  indolence.  It  has  been  said  that  critics  are  men  who  have  failed 
in  their  undertakings.  But  I  rather  think  the  most  disagreeable, 
and  self-satisfied  critics,  are  men  who  have  i  ever  done  anything, 
or  tried  to  do  anythins-.  themselves." 

The  Deacon,  who,  tliouch  something  of  an  old  f'^gy,  is  a  good 
deal  of  a  man,  and  possessed  of  good  common  sense,  and  much  ex- 


38  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

perience,  took  these  remarks  kindly.  "  Well,"  said  he  to  me,  "1 
must  say  that  your  farm  haseertainiy  improveil,  but  you  did  things 
80  ilillerenlly  Irom  what  we  expeeled,  tiiat  we  eould  i;ot  see  what 
you  were  driviuj^  at." 

"  1  eau  tell  you  w  hat  I  have  been  aiming  at  all  along.  1st.  To 
drain  the  wet  portions  ol  the  arable  laud.  2d.  To  kill  weeds,  and 
make  the  soil  mellow  and  clean.     3d.  To  make  more  manure." 

"  You  have  also  bought  some  bone-dust,  superphosphate,  and 
other  artitieial  manures." 

"True;  and  it  1  had  had  more  money  I  would  have  bought 
more  manure.  It  would  have  i»aid  well.  I  eould  have  made  my 
It  nd  as  rich  as  it  is  now  in  half  the  time." 

1  had  to  depend  principally  on  the  natural  resources  of  the  land. 
I  got  out  of  the  soil  all  1  coulil,  and  kept  as  much  of  it  as  possible 
on  the  farm.  One  of  the  mistakes  I  made  was,  in  breaking  up  too 
much  land,  and  putting  in  too  much  wheat,  barley,  oats,  peas,  and 
corn.  It  would  have  been  better  for  my  pocket,  though  possibly 
not  so  good  for  the  farm,  if  I  had  left  more  of  the  land  in  grass, 
and  also,  if  1  had  sumim  r-fallo\ved  more,  and  sown  less  barley  and 
oats,  anil  j)lanted  less  corn. 

"  I  do  not  see  how  plowing  uj)  the  grass  land,"  .said  the  Deacon, 
"could  possibly  be  any  better  for  the  farm.  You  agricultural 
writers  are  always  telling  us  that  we  plow  too  much  land,  and  do 
not  raise  grass  and  clover  enough." 

"  What  I  meant  by  saying  that  it  would  have  been  better  for  my 
pockot,  though  possibly  not  so  good  for  the  farm,  if  I  had  not 
plowed  so  much  land,  may  need  explanation.  The  land  had  been 
only  half  cultivated,  and  was  very  foul.  The  grass  and  clover 
fields  did  not  uive  more  than  half  a  crop  of  hay,  and  the  hay  was 
poor  in  quality,  and  much  of  it  half  thistles,  and  other  weeds.  I 
plowed  this  land,  planted  it  to  corn,  and  cultivated  it  tlioroughly. 
But  the  labor  of  keeping  the  corn  clean  was  costly,  and  absorbed  a 
very  large  slice  of  the  profits.  But  the  corn  yielded  a  far  larger 
produce  per  acre  than  I  should  have  got  had  the  land  lain  in  grass. 
And  as  all  this  produce  was  consumed  on  the  farm,  we  made  more 
manure  than  if  we  had  plowed  less  land." 

I  have  great  faith  in  the  benefits  of  thorough  tillage — or,  in  other 
words,  of  breaking  up.  pulverizinir,  and  exposing  the  soil  to  the 
decomposing  action  of  the  atmosphere.  I  look  upon  a  good,  strong 
soil  as  a  kind  of  storehouse  of  plant-food.  But  it  is  not  an  easy 
matter  to  render  tiiis  plant-food  soluble.  If  it  were  any  less  solu- 
ble than  it  is,  it  would  have  all  leached  out  of  the  land  centuries 
ago.     Turning  over,  and  fining  a  manure-heap,  if  other  conditions 


now    To    liliSTOUIi    A    WOUN-OUT    FAI.'M.  ii9 

are  favorald",  cause  rapid  fenntntaliou  with  the  funnatiou  of  cur- 
boiiate  of  ainuionia,  ami  otlu  r  suliil)!.  nails.  ^lany  of  our  soils,  to 
tlie  lieptli  oi  ciijlit  or  ten  iiieiu's,  contain  .nougii  nitrojrenous  mat 
ter  in  an  acrj  lo  produce  two  or  tliree  tiiousand  pounds  of  ammonia. 
By  stirrins;  tie  st)il,  and  cxposinsi  it  to  the  atmosphere,  a  small 
portion  of  this  nitrogen  becomes  annually  available,  and  is  taken 
up  by  \h2  growing  crops.  And  it  is  so  with  the  other  cleme  ts  of 
plant-food.  Stirring  the  soil,  then,  is  the  basis  of  agriculture.  It 
has  been  said  that  we  must  return  to  the  soil  as  much  plan'-food 
as  we  take  fro...  it.  If  this  were  true,  nothing  could  be  sold  from 
the  farm.  What  we  .should  aim  to  do,  is  to  develop  as  much  as 
possii)le()f  the  plant-food  that  lies  latent  in  the  soil,  and  not  to  sell 
in  (he  form  of  cn)|is,  cheese,  wool,  or  animals,  any  more  of  this 
plant  food  than  we  annually  develop  from  the  soil.  In  this  way 
the  "  condition  "  of  the  soil  .vould  ren.ain  the  same.  If  we  sell 
U-tg  than  we  develop,  the  condition  of  the  s  .il  will  improve. 

By  "  condition,"  I  mean  the  amount  of  amilnhk  plant-food  in  the 
soil.  Nearl}'  all  our  farms  arc  poorer  In  plant-food  to-day  than 
when  lirst  cleared  of  the  original  forest,  or  than  they  were  ten, 
fifteen,  or  twenty  years  later.  In  other  words,  the  jdants  and 
animals  that  have  been  sold  froni  the  farm,  liavc  carried  off  a  con- 
sitlerable  amount  of  plant-food.  V.'c  have  taken  far  more  nitro- 
gen, phosphoric  acid,  potash,  etc.,  out  of  the  soil,  than  we  have 
retunu'd  to  it  in  the  shape  of  manure.  Consecpiently,  the  soil  must 
contain  less  and  less  of  plant  food  every  year.  And  yet,  while  this 
is  a  self-evident  fact,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  many  of  these 
self-same  farms  arc  more  productive  now  than  when  first  cleared, 
or  at  any  rate  more  productive  than  they  were  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago. 

Sometime  ago,  the  Deacon  and  I  "visited  the  farm  of  Mr.  Dewey, 
of  Monroe  Co.,N.  Y.  He  is  a  good  farmer.  He  does  not  practice 
"  liigii  farming"  in  the  sense  in  wliicli  I  use  that  term.  Ilis  is  a 
good  example  of  what  I  term  slow  farming.  He  raises  large  crops, 
but  comparatively  few  of  them.  On  his  farm  of  HOO  acres,  he 
raises  40  acres  of  wheat,  17  acres  of  Indian  corn,  and  23  acres  of 
oats,  barley,  potatoes,  roots,  etc.  In  other  words,  he  has  80  acres 
in  crops,  and  220  acres  in  grass— not  permanent  grass.  He  lets  it 
lie  in  grass  five,  six,  dcven,  or  eight  years,  as  he  deems  best,  and 
then  breaks  it  up,  and  plants  it  to  corn.  The  land  he  intends  to 
plant  to  corn  next  year,  has  been  in  grass  for  seven  years.  He 
will  put  pretty  much  all  his  manure  on  this  land.  After  corn,  it 
will  ])('  sown  to  oats,  or  barley  ;  then  sown  to  wheat,  and  seeded 
down  again.     Il  will  tlii  n  li"  in  grass  three,  four,  five,  six,  or  seven 


40  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

years,  until  he  needs  it  again  for  corn,  etc.  This  is  "  slow  farm- 
iflg,"  but  it  is  also  good  farming — that  is  to  say,  it  gives  large 
yields  per  acre,  and  a  good  return  for  the  labor  expended. 

The  soil  of  this  farm  is  richer  to-day  in  available  plant-food  than 
when  first  cleared.     It  produces  larger  crops  per  acre. 

Mr.  D.  called  our  attention  to  a  fact  that  establishes  this  point. 
An  old  fence  that  had  occupied  the  ground  for  many  years  was 
removed  some  years  since,  and  the  two  fields  thrown  into  one. 
Every  time  this  field  is  in  crops,  it  is  easy  to  see  where  the  old 
fence  was,  by  the  short  straw  and  poor  growth  on  this  strip,  aa 
compared  with  the  laud  on  each  side  which  had  been  cultivated 
for  years. 

This  is  precisely  the  result  that  I  should  have  expected.  If  Mr. 
D.  was  a  poor  farmer — if  he  cropped  his  land  frequently,  did  not 
more  than  half-cultivate  it,  sold  everything  he  raised,  and  drew 
back  no  manure — I  think  the  old  fence-strip  would  have  given  the 
best  crops. 

The  strip  of  land  on  which  the  old  fence  stood  in  Mr.  Dewey's 
field,  contained  more  plant-food  than  the  soil  on  either  side  of  it. 
But  it  was  not  available.  It  was  not  developed.  It  was  latent, 
inert,  insoluble,  crude,  and  undccomposed.  It  was  so  much  dead 
capital.  The  land  on  either  side  which  had  been  cultivated  for 
years,  produced  better  crops.  Why  ?  Simply  because  the  stirring 
of  the  soil  had  developed  more  plant-food  tban  had  been  removed 
by  tbe  crops.  If  the  stirring  of  the  soil  developed  100  lbs.  of  plant- 
food  a  year,  and  only  75  lbs.  were  carried  off  in  the  crops — 25  lbs. 
being  left  on  the  land  in  the  form  of  roots,  stubble,  etc. — the  land, 
at  the  expiration  of  40  years,  would  contain,  provided  none  of  it 
was  lost,  1,000  lbs.  more  available  plant-food  than  the  uncultivated 
strip.  On  the  other  hand,  the  latter  would  contain  3,000  lbs.  more 
actual  plant-food  per  acre  than  the  land  which  had  been  cultivated 
— but  it  is  m  an  unavailable  condition.     It  is  dead  capital. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  make  myself  understood,  though  I  would 
like  to  do  so,  because  I  am  sure  there  is  no  point  in  s  icntific  farm- 
ing of  greater  importance.  Mr.  Geddes  calls  grass  the  "pivotal 
crop  '  of  American  agriculture.  He  deserves  our  thanks  for  the 
word  and  the  idea  connected  with  it.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  pivot  on  which  our  agriculture  stands  and  rotates,  lies  deeper 
than  this.  The  grass  crop  creates  nothing — dcvelopes  nothing. 
The  uiitilled  and  unmanured  grass  lands  of  Herkimer  County,  in 
this  State,  are  no  richer  to-day  than  tliey  were  50  years  ago.  The 
pastures  of  Cheshire,  England,  except  those  that  have  been  top- 
dressed  with  bones,  or  other  manures,  arc  no  more  productive  that 


HOW   TO   MAKE    MANUKE.  41 

they  were  centuries  back.  Grass  aloue  will  not  malie  rich  land. 
It  is  a  good  "  savings  bank."  It  gathers  up  and  saves  plant-food 
from  running  to  waste.  It  pays  a  good  interest,  and  is  a  capital 
institution.  But  the  real  source  of  fertility  must  be  looked  for  in 
the  stores  of  plant-food  lying  dormant  in  tJw  soil.  Tillage,  under- 
.iraining,  and  thorough  cultivation,  are  the  means  by  which  we 
develop  and  render  this  plant-food  available.  Grass,  clover,  peas, 
or  any  other  crop  consumed  on  the  farm,  merely  affords  us  the 
means  of  saving  this  plant-food  and  making  it  pay  a  good  interest. 


CHAPTER    X. 
HOW    TO    MAKE   MANURE. 

If  we  have  the  necessary  materials,  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to 
make  manure ;  in  fact,  the  manure  will  make  itself.  We  some- 
times need  to  hasten  the  process,  and  to  see  that  none  of  the  fer- 
tilizing matter  runs  to  waste.  This  is  about  all  that  we  can  do. 
We  cannot  create  an  atom  of  plant-food.  It  is  ready  formed  to 
our  hands ;  but  we  must  know  where  to  look  for  it,  and  how  to 
get  it  in  the  easiest,  cheapest,  and  best  way,  and  how  to  save  and 
use  it.  The  science  of  manure-making  is  a  profound  study.  It  is 
intimately  connected  with  nearly  every  branch  of  agriculture. 

If  weeds  grow  and  decay  on  the  land,  they  make  manure.  If 
vre  grow  a  crop  of  buckwheat,  or  spurry,  or  mustard,  or  rape,  or 
clover,  and  mow  it,  and  let  it  lie  on  the  laud,  it  makes  manure  ;  or 
if  we  plow  it  under,  it  forms  manure;  or  if,  after  it  is  mown,  we 
rake  up  the  green  crop,  and  put  it  i  to  a  heap,  it  will  ferment, 
heat  will  be  produced  by  the  slow  combustion  of  a  portion  of  the 
carbonaceous  and  nitrogenous  matter,  and  the  result  will  be  a  mass 
of  material,  which  we  should  all  recognize  as  "  manure."  If,  in- 
stead of  putting  the  crop  into  a  heap  and  letting  it  ferment,  we 
feed  it  to  animals,  the  digestible  carbonaceous  and  nitrogenous 
matter  will  be  consumed  to  produce  animal  heat  and  to  sustain 
the  vital  functions,  and  the  refuse,  or  the  solid  and  liquid  drop- 
pings of  the  animals,  will  be  manure. 

If  the  crop  rots  on  the  ground,  nothing  is  added  to  it.  If  it  fer- 
ments, and  gives  out  heat,  in  a  heap,  nothing  is  added  to  it.     If  it 


42  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

is  passed  through  an  animal,  and  produces  heat,  nothing  is  added 
to  it. 

I  have  heard  people  say  a  farmer  could  not  make  manure  unless 
he  kept  animals.  \V"e  might  with  as  much  truth  sa}'  a  farmer 
cannot  make  ashes  unless  he  keeps  stoves;  and  it  would  be  just 
as  sensible  to  take  a  lot  of  stoves  into  the  woods  to  make  ashes,  as 
it  is  to  keep  a  lot  of  animals  merely  to  make  manure.  You  can 
make  the  ashes  by  throwing  the  wood  into  a  pile,  and  burning  it; 
and  you  can  make  the  manure  by  throwing  the  material  out  of 
which  the  manure  is  to  be  made  into  a  pile,  and  letting  it  ferment. 
On  a  farm  where  neither  food  nor  manure  of  any  kind  is  pur- 
chased, the  only  way  to  make  manure  is  to  get  it  out  of  the  land. 

"  From  the  land  and  from  the  atmosphere,"  remarked  the  Doc- 
tor. "  Pl;ints  iret  a  large  portion  of  the  material  of  which  they  are 
composed  from  the  atmosphere." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  but  it  is  prineiiially  carbonaceous  matter, 
wliicli  is  of  little  or  no  value  as  manure.  A  small  amount  of  am- 
monia and  nitric  acid  are  also  brought  to  the  soil  by  rains  and 
dews,  and  a  freshly-stirrc-d  soil  may  also  sometimes  absorb  more 
or  less  ammonia  from  the  atmospliere;  but  while  this  is  true,  so 
far  as  making  manure  is  concerned,  we  must  look  to  the  plant- 
food  existing  in  the  soil  itself. 

"  Take  such  a  farm  as  Mr.  Dewey's,  that  we  have  already 
referred  to.  No  manure  or  food  has  been  purchased  ;  or  at  any 
rate,  not  one-tenth  as  much  as  has  been  sold,  and  yet  the  farm  is 
more  productive  to-day  than  when  it  was  first  cleared  of  the  forest. 
He  lias  developed  the  manure  from  the  stores  of  latent  plant-food 
previously  existing  in  the  soil-  and  this  is  the  way  farmers  gen- 
erally make  manure." 


VALUK    OP   MANURE.  43 


C  U  A  r  T  E  K     XI. 

THE  VALUE  OF  MANURE  DEPENDS  ON  THE  FOOD- 
NUT  ON  THE  ANIMAL. 

"  If,"  said  I,  "you  sliouUl  put  a  ton  of  cut  straw  in  a  heap,  wet  it, 
and  let  it  rot  down  into  manure,  and  should  place  in  another  heap 
a  ton  of  cut  corn-fodder,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton  of  cut  clover- 
hay,  wet  them,  and  let  them  also  rot  down  into  manure;  and  in 
another  heap  a  ton  of  pulped-turnips,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton 
of  corn-meal,  and  in  another  heap  a  ton  of  bran,  and  in  another  a 
ton  of  malt-sprouts,  and  let  them  be  mixed  with  water,  and  so 
treated  that  they  will  ferment  without  loss  of  ammonia  or  other 
valuable  plant-food,  I  think  no  one  will  say  that  all  these  different 
heaps  of  manuie  will  iiave  the  same  value.    And  if  not,  why  not  V " 

"  Because,"  said  Charley,  "  the  ton  of  straw  does  not  contain  as 
much  valuable  jilant-food  as  the  ton  of  corn-fodder,  nor  the  ton  of 
corn-fodder  as  much  as  the  ton  of  clover-ha}." 

"  Now  then,"  said  I,  "  instead  of  putting  a  ton  of  straw  in  one 
heap  to  rot,  and  a  ton  of  com-foddcr  in  another  heap,  and  a  ton  of 
clover  in  another  heap,  we  feed  the  ton  of  straw  to  a  cow,  and  the 
ton  of  corn-fodder  to  another  cow,  and  the  ton  of  clover  to  anot'.ier 
cow,  and  save  all  the  solid  anl  liquid  excrements,  will  the  manure 
made  from  the  ton  of  straw  be  worth  as  much  as  the  manure  made 
from  the  ton  of  corn-fodder  or  clover-hay  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Charley. — "  Certainly  not,"  said  the  Doctor. — "  I  am 
not  so  sure  about  it,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  I  think  you  will  get  more 
manure  from  the  corn-fodder  than  from  the  straw  or  clover-hay." 

"  We  are  not  talking  about  bulk,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  value." 
"  Suppose,  Deacon,"  said  he,  "  you  were  to  shut  up  a  lot  of  your 
Brahma  hens,  and  feed  them  a  ton  of  corn-meal,  and  should  also 
feed  a  ton  of  corn-meal  made  into  slops  to  a  lot  of  pigs,  and  should 
save  nil  the  liquid  and  solid  cxcn  ments  from  the  pigs,  and  all  the 
manure  from  tlie  hens,  which  would  be  worth  the  most  ?"— "  The 
hen-manure,  of  course,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  has  great  faith  in 
this  kind  of  "  guano,"  as  he  calls  it. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  you  would  probably  not  get  more 
than  half  a  ton  of  manure  from  tlie  hens,  while  the  liquid  and 
solid  excrements  from  the  pigs,  if  the  corn-meal  was  made  into  a 
thin  slop,  would  weigh  two  or  three  tons." 


44  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

"  More,  too,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  way  you  feed  your  store 
pigs." 

"  Very  well ;  and  yet  you  say  that  the  half  ton  of  hen-manure 
made  from  a  ton  of  corn  is  worth  more  than  the  two  or  three  tons 
of  pig-manure  made  from  a  ton  of  corn.  You  do  not  seem  to 
think,  after  all,  that  mere  bulk  or  weight  adds  anything  to  the 
value  of  the  manure.  Why  tlien  should  you  say  that  the  manure 
from  a  ton  of  corn-fodder  is  worth  more  tlian  from  a  ton  of  straw, 
because  it  is  more  bulky  ?  " 

"  You,  yourself,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  also  say  the  manure  from 
the  ton  of  corn-fodder  is  worth  more  than  from  the  ton  of 
straw." — "  True,"  said  I  "  but  not  because  it  is  more  bulky.  It  is 
worth  more  because  the  ton  of  corn-fodder  contains  a  greater 
quantity  of  valuable  plant-food  than  the  ton  of  straw.  The  clover 
is  still  richer  in  this  valuable  plant-food,  and  the  manure  is  much 
more  valuable  ;  in  fact,  the  manure  from  the  ton  of  clover  is  worth 
as  much  as  the  manure  from  the  ton  of  straw  and  the  ton  of  corn- 
fodder  together." 

"  I  would  like  to  see  you  prove  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  for  if 
it  is  true,  I  will  sell  no  more  clover-hay.  I  can't  get  as  much  for 
clover-hay  in  the  market  as  I  can  for  rye-straw." 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  prove  it  at  present,"  said  the  Doctor; 
"  but  the  evidence  is  so  strong  and  so  conclusive  that  no  rational 
man,  who  will  study  the  subject,  can  fail  to  be  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  its  truth." 

"  The  value  of  manure,"  said  I,  "  does  not  depend  on  the  quan- 
tity of  water  which  it  contains,  or  on  the  quantity  of  sand,  or 
silica,  or  on  the  amount  of  woody  fibre  or  carbonaceous  matter. 
These  things  add  little  or  nothing  to  its  fertilizing  vakie,  except  in 
rare  cases ;  and  the  sulphuric  acid  and  lime  are  worth  no  more 
than  the  same  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  or  gypsum,  and  the 
chlorine  and  soda  are  probably  worth  no  more  than  so  much  com- 
mon salt.  Tiie  real  chemical  value  of  the  manure,  other  things 
being  equal,  is  in  proportion  to  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash,  that  tiie  manure  contains. 

"And  the  quantity  of  nitrogen,  phosplioric  acid,  and  potash 
found  in  the  manure  is  determined,  other  things  being  equal,  by 
the  quantity  of  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  contained 
in  the  food  consumed  by  the  animals  making  the  manure." 


POODS  AVHicu  Make  uicii  manure. 


45 


CHAPTER    XII. 
FOODS    WHICH    MAKE    RICH    MANURE. 

The  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  contained 
in  difTerent  foods,  has  been  accurately'  determined  by  many  able 
and  reliable  chemists. 

The  follow  nig  table  was  prepared  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Lawes,  of  Roth- 
amsted,  England,  and  was  lirst  published  in  this  country  in  the 
"  Genesee  Farmer,"  for  May,  1860.  Since  then,  it  has  been  re- 
peatedly published  in  nearly  all  the  leading  agriculturcd  journals 
of  the  world,  and  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  table,  with  some  recent  additions : 


PER  CENT. 


Linseed  cake 88.0 

Cotton-seed  cake*..   .   .      89.0 

Rape-cake 89.0 

Linseed 90.0 

Beans 81.0 

Peas 84.5 

Tares 84.0 

Lentils 88.0 

Malt-dust 94.0 

Locust  beans 85.0 

Indian-meal i    88.0 

Wheat 85.0 

Barley 84.0 

Malt ;    95.0 

Oats t    86.0 

Fine  pollard  t '.     8().0 

Coarse  pollard  t 8(i.0 

VVheat-br.au 86.0 

Clover-ha? 84.0 

84.0 
82.5 
82.0 
84.0 


Meadow-hay 

Bean-straw . . 

Pea-straw... 

Wheat-straw 

Barley-straw '<     8.5  0 

Oat-straw i     Ki  0 

12.5 
11.0 
8.0 

13.5 
15.0 


Mancjel-wurzel . 
Swedish  turnips.. 
Common  turuips 

Potatoes 

Carrots 

Parsnips 


^."^ 


7.00 

4.92 

8.00 

7.00 

8.  CO 

5.75 

4.00 

3  38 

.3.00 

2.20 

2.40 

1.84 

2.00 

1.63 

.3.00 

1.89 

8.50 

5.23 

1.75 

1..30 

1.13 

1.70 

1  87 

2.20 

1..35 

2.00 

1.60 

2.85 

1.17 

5.<i0 

6.44 

6.20 

7.52 

6.60 

7.95 

7.50 

1.25 

6.00 

0.88 

5.. 55 

0.90 

5.95 

0.85 

5.00 

0.55 

4  50 

0.37 

5.. 50 

0.48 

1.00 

0.09 

.68 

0.13 

.68 

O.Il 

1.00 

0.32 

.70 

0.13 

1.00 

0.42 

1.65 
3.12 
1.76 
1.37 
1.27 
0.96 
0.66 
0.96 
2.12 

o.m 

0.50 
0..55 
0.65 
0.50 
1.4(5 
1.49 
1.45 
1.30 
1.50 
1.11 
0.89 
0.65 
0.63 
0.93 
0.25 
O.IS 
0.29 
0.43 
0.23 
0.36 


4.75 
6.50 
5.00 
3.80 
4.00 
3.40 
4.20 
4.30 
4.20 
1.25 
1.80 
1.80 
1.65 
1.70 
2.00 
2.60 
2.58 
2.55 
2.50 
1.50 
0.90 

oieo 

0..50 
0.60 
0.25 
0.22 
0.18 
0..35 
0.20 
0.22 


19.72 
27.86 
21.01 
15.65 
15.75 
13.38 
16.75 
16.51 
18.21 
4.81 
6.65 
7.08 
6.32 
6.65 
7.70 
13.. 53 
14.. 36 
14.59 
9.64 
6.4:5 
3.87 
3.74 
^.(i8 
2.25 
2.90 
1.07 
91 
.86 
1..50 
.80 
1.14 


*  The  manure  from  a  ton  of  undecorticated  cottonseed  cake  is  worth  $15.74; 
that  from  a  ton  of  cotton-seed,  after  being  ground  and  sifted,  is  worth  $13.25. 
The  grinding  and  sifting,  in  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments,  removed  about  8  percent 


of  husk  and  cotton 
economical  food. 


Cotton-seed,  so  treated,  proved  to  be  a  very  rich  and 
t  Middlings,  Canielle.  %  Shipstuff. 


46  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

Of  all  vegetable  substances  used  fcjr  fcxxl,  it  will  be  seen  tliut 
decorticated  cotton-seed  cake  is  the  ricliest  in  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  and  consequently  makes  the  richest  and 
most  valuable  manure.  According  to  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate,  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  decorticated  cotton-seed  cake  is  worth  $27.86 
in  gold. 

Rape-cake  comes  next.  Twenty-five  to  thirty  years  ago,  rape- 
cake,  ground  as  line  as  corn-meal,  was  used  quite  extensively  on 
many  of  the  light-land  farms  of  England  as  a  manure  for  turnips, 
and  not  unfrequcntly  as  a  manure  for  wheat.  Mr.  Lawes  used  it 
for  many  years  in  his  experiments  on  turnips  and  on  wheat. 

Of  late  years,  however,  it  has  been  fed  to  sheep  and  cattle.  In 
other  words,  it  has  been  used,  not  as  formerly,  for  manure  alone, 
but  for  food  first,  and  manure  afterwards.  The  oil  and  other  car- 
bonaceous matter  which  the  cake  contains  is  of  little  value  for 
manure,  while  it  is  of  great  value  as  food.  The  animals  take  out 
this  carbonaceous  matter,  and  leave  nearly  all  the  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash  in  the  manure.  Farmers  who  had  found 
it  profitable  to  use  on  wheat  and  turnips  for  m.nure  alone,  found 
it  still  more  profitable  to  use  it  first  for  food,  and  then  for  manure 
afterwards.  Mr.  Lawes,  it  will  be  seen,  estimates  the  manure  pro- 
duced from  the  consumption  of  a  ton  of  rape-cake  at  $21.01. 

Linseed-oil  cake  comes  next.  Pure  linseed-cake  is  exceedingly 
valuable,  both  for  food  and  manure.  It  is  a  favorite  food  with 
all  cattle  and  sheep  breeders  and  feeders.  It  has  a  wonderful 
effect  in  improving  the  appearance  of  cattle  and  sheep.  An  Eng- 
lish farmer  thinks  he  cannot  get  along  without  "cake"  for  his 
calves,  lambs,  cattle,  and  sheep.  In  this  country,  it  is  not  so  ex- 
tensivel}'  used,  except  by  the  breeders  of  improved  stock.  It  is  so 
popular  in  England  that  the  price  is  fully  up  to  its  intrinsic  value, 
and  not  tmfrcquently  other  foods,  in  proparti(m  to  the  nutritive 
and  manurial  value,  can  be  bought  cheaper.  This  fact  shows  the 
value  of  a  good  reputation.  Linseed-cake,  however,  is  often  adul- 
terated, and  farmers  need  to  be  cautious  who  they  deal  with. 
When  pure,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  manure  made  by  the  consump- 
tion of  a  ton  of  linsced-cakc  is  worth  f|>19.72. 

Malt  (lust  stands  next  on  the  list.  This  article  is  known  by  dif- 
ferent names.  In  England,  it  is  often  called  "  malt-combs  ;"  here 
it  is  known  as  "malt-sprw/fo,"  or  "  malt-/vwfo."  In  making  barley 
into  malt,  the  barley  is  soaked  in  water,  and  afterwards  kept  in  a 
warm  room  until  it  germinates,  and  throws  out  sprouts  and  roots. 
It  is  then  dried,  and  before  the  malt  is  used,  these  dried  sprouts 
and  roots  are  sifted  out,  and  are  sold  for  cattle-food.    They  weigh 


\ 


FOODS    WUICU    MAKE    RICH    MANUKK.  47 

from  22  to  25  lbs.  per  bushel  of  40  quarls.  They  are  frequently 
mixed  at  the  breweries  with  the  "  grains,"  and  are  sold  to  milkmen 
at  the  same  priee — from  12  to  15  eents  per  bushel.  Where  their 
value  is  not  known,  they  ean,  doubtless,  be  sometimes  obtaiueil  at 
a  mere  nominal  price.  Milkmen,  1  believe,  prefer  the  "  grains"  to 
the  malt-dust.  The  latter,  however,  is  a  good  food  for  sheep.  It 
has  one  advantage  over  brewer's  "  grains."  The  latter  contain  76 
per  cent  of  water,  while  the  malt-dust  contains  only  6  per  cent  of 
water.  We  can  afford,  therefore,  to  transport  malt-dust  to  a 
greater  distance  than  the  grains.  We  do  not  want  to  carry  water 
many  miles.  There  is  anotlier  ailvantage :  brewer's  grains  soon 
ferment,  and  become  sour;  wliile  the  malt-dust,  being  dr}%  will 
keep  for  any  length  of  time.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mi.  Lawes  esti- 
mates the  value  of  the  manure  left  from  the  consumption  of  a  ton 
of  malt-dust  at  $18.21. 

Tares  or  vetches,  lentils,  linseed  or  fla.xseed,  beans,  wheat,  bran, 
middlings,  fine  mill-feel,  undecorticated  cotton-seed  cake,  peas, 
and  cotton-SL'cd,  stand  next  on  the  list.  The  value  of  these  for 
manure  ranging  from  $13.25  to  $10.75  per  ton. 

Then  comes  clover-hay.  Mr.  Lawes  estimates  the  value  of  the 
manure  from  the  consumptic^n  of  a  ton  of  clover-hay  at  $9.64. 
This  is  from  early  cut  clover-hay. 

When  clover  is  allowed  to  grow  until  it  is  nearly  out  of  flower, 
the  hay  would  not  contain  so  much  nitrogen,  and  would  not  be 
worth  quite  so  much  ptr  ton  for  manure.  When  mixed  with 
timothy  or  other  grasses,  or  with  weeds,  it  would  not  be  so  valu- 
able. The  above  estimate  is  for  the  average  quality  of  good  pure 
English  clover-hay.  Our  best  farmers  raise  clover  equally  as 
good ;  but  I  have  seen  much  clover-hay  that  certainly  would  not 
come  up  to  this  standard.  Still,  even  our  common  clover-hay 
makes  rich  manure.  In  Wolff's  Table,  given  in  the  appendix,  it 
will  be  seen  that  clover-hay  contains  only  1.97  per  cent  of  nitro- 
gen and  5.7  per  cent  of  ash.  Mr.  Lawes'  clover  contains  more 
nitrogen  and  ash.  This  means  richer  land  and  a  less  mature  con- 
dition of  the  crop. 

The  cereal  grains,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  Indian  corn,  stand 
next  on  the  list,  being  worth  from  $6.32  to  $7.70  per  ton  for 
manure. 

"  Meadow-hay,"  which  in  the  table  is  estimated  as  worth  $6.43 
per  ton  for  manure,  is  the  hay  from  permanent  meadows.  It  is  a 
quite  diff"erent  article  from  the  "  English  Meadow-hay  "  of  New 
England.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  perfection  of  hny.  The  meadows  are  fre- 
quentlj-  top-dressed  with  composted  manure  or  artificial  fertilizers, 


48  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

aud  the  hay  is  composed  of  a  number  of  the  best  grasses,  cut  early 
and  carefully  cured.  It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that  even  this 
choice  meadow-hay  is  not  as  valuable  for  manure  as  clover-hay. 

English  bean-straw  is  estimated  as  worth  $3.87  per  ton  for 
manure.  The  English  "  horse  bean,"  which  is  the  kind  here 
alluded  to,  has  a  very  stiff,  coarse  long  straw,  and  looks  as  though 
it  was  much  inferior  as  fodder,  to  the  straw  of  our  ordinary  white 
beans.     See  Wolff's  table  in  the  appendix. 

Pea-straw  is  estimated  at  $3. 74  per  ton.  When  the  peas  are  not  al- 
lowed to  grow  until  dead  ripe,  and  when  the  straw  is  carefully  cured, 
it  makes  capital  food  for  sheep.  Taking  the  grain  and  straw 
together,  it  will  be  seen  that  peas  are  an  unusually  valuable  crop  to 
grow  for  the  purpose  of  making  rich  manure. 

The  straw  of  oats,  wheat,  and  barley,  is  worth  from  $2.25  to  $2.90 
per  ton.  Barley  straw  being  the  poorest  for  manure,  and  oat  straw 
the  richest. 

Potatoes  are  worth  $1.50  per  ton,  or  nearly  5  cents  a  bushel  for 
manure. 

The  manurial  value  of  roots  varies  from  80  cents  a  ton  for 
carrots,  to  $1.07  for  mangel-wurzel,  and  $1.14  for  parsnips. 

I  am  very  anxious  t'jat  there  should  be  no  misapprehension  as 
to  the  meaning  of  these  figures.  I  am  sure  they  are  well  worth 
the  careful  study  of  every  intelligent  farmer.  Mr.  Lawes  has  been 
engaged  in  making  experiments  for  over  thirty  years.  There  is  no 
man  more  competent  to  speak  with  authority  on  such  a  subject. 
The  figures  showing  the  money  value  of  the  manure  made  from 
the  different  foods,  are  based  on  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  which  they  contain.  Mr.  Lawes  has  been 
buying  and  using  artificial  manures  for  many  j'ears,  and  is  quite 
competent  to  form  a  correct  conclusion  as  to  the  cheapest  sources 
of  obtaining  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash.  He  has  cer- 
tainly not  overestimated  their  cost.  Thoy  can  not  be  bought  at 
lower  rates,  either  in  England  or  America.  But  of  course  it  does 
not  follow  from  this  that  these  manures  are  worth  to  the  farmer 
the  price  charged  for  them;  that  is  a  matter  depending  on  many 
conditions.  All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  if  you  are  going  to  buy 
commercial  manures,  you  will  have  to  pay  at  least  as  much  for  the 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as  the  price  fixed  upon  by 
Mr.  Lawes.  And  you  should  recollect  that  there  are  other  in- 
gredients in  the  manure  ob'ained  from  the  food  of  animals,  which 
are  not  estimated  as  of  any  value  in  the  table.  For  instance,  there 
is  a  large  amount  of  carbonaceous  matter  in  the  manure  of  animals, 


FOODS   WHICH    MAKE    RICH    MANUKE.  49 

which,  for  some  crops,  is  uot  without  value,  but  which  is  not  here 
taken  into  account. 

Viewed  from  a  farmer's  stand-point,  the  table  of  money  values 
must  be  takeu  only  in  a  comparative  sense.  It  is  not  claimed  that 
the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat-straw  is  worth  $2.G8.  Tiiis  may, 
or  may  not,  be  the  case.  But  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat- 
straw  is  worth  $2.08,  theu  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  pea-straw  is 
worth  $13.74,  and  the  manure  from  a  tun  of  corn-meal  is  worth 
$6.05,  and  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $9.04, 
an.l  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat-bran  is  worth  $14.59.  If  the 
manure  from  u.  ton  of  corn  meal  is  not  worth  $0.05,  then  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  bran  is  not  worth  $14.59.  If  the  manure 
from  the  ton  of  corn  is  worth  more  than  $().G5,  then  the  manure 
from  a  ton  of  bran  is  worth  more  than  $14.59.  There  need  be  no 
doubt  on  this  point. 

Settle  in  your  own  mind  what  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  any  one 
of  the  foods  mentioned  is  worth  on  jour  farm,  and  you  can  easily 
calculate  what  the  manure  is  worth  froai  all  the  others.  If  you 
say  that  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  wheat-straw  is  worth  $1.84,  then 
the  manure  from  a  ton  of  Indian  corn  is  worth  $;3.33,  and  the 
manure  from  a  ton  of  bran  is  worth  $7.30,  and  the  manure  from  a 
ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $4.82. 

In  this  section,  however,  few  good  farmers  are  willing  to  sell 
Btraw,  though  t'-iey  can  get  from  $8.00  to  $10.00  per  ton  for  it. 
They  think  it  must  be  consumed  on  the  farm,  or  used  for  bedding, 
or  their  land  will  run  down.  I  do  not  say  they  are  wrong,  but  I 
do  say,  that  if  a  ton  of  straw  is  worth  $2.68  for  manure  alone,  then 
a  ton  of  clover-hay  is  worth  $9.64  for  manure  alone.  This  may 
be  accepted  as  a  general  truth,  and  one  which  a  farmer  can  act 
upon.  And  so,  too,  in  regard  to  the  value  of  corn-meal,  bran,  and 
all  the  other  articles  criven  in  the  table. 


There  is  another  point  of  great  importance  which  should  be  men- 
tioned in  this  connection.  The  nitrogen  in  the  better  class  of 
foods  is  worth  more  for  manure  than  the  nitrogen  in  straw,  corn- 
stalks, and  other  coarse  fodder.  Nearly  all  the  nitrogen  in  grain, 
and  other  rich  foods,  is  digested  by  the  animals,  and  is  voided  in 
solution  in  the  urine.  In  other  words,  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure 
is  in  an  active  and  available  condition.  On  the  other  hand,  only 
about  half  the  nitrogen  in  the  coarse  fodders  and  straw  is  digesti- 
ble. The  other  half  passes  off  in  a  crude  and  comparatively  un- 
available condition,  in  the  solid  excrement.  In  estimating  the  value 
of  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  food,  these  facts  should  be  remembered. 
3 


50  TALKS    ON    MANLKES. 

I  have  said  that  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  straw  is  worth  $2.G8, 
the  niamue  from  a  ton  of  corn  is  worth  $G.G5  ;  hut  I  will  not  reverse 
the  i)rui)o8ilioii,  and  say  that  if  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  corn  is 
wortli  $0.05,  the  manure  from  a  ton  of  straw  is  worth  $2.G8.  The 
manure  from  the  grain  is  nearly  all  in  an  availahle  condition,  while 
tliat  from  the  straw  is  not.  A  pound  of  nitrogen  in  rich  manure 
is  wortli  more  than  a  pound  of  nitrogen  in  poor  manure.  This  is 
another  reason  why  we  should  try  to  make  rich  manure. 


C  H  A  P  T  E  11    XIII. 
HORSE    MANURE    AND    FARM-YARD    MANURE. 

The  manure  from  horses  is  generally  considered  richer  and  hetier 
than  that  from  cows.  This  is  not  always  the  case,  though  it  is 
probahly  so  as  a  rule.  There  arc  three  principal  reasons  for  this. 
1st.  The  horse  is  usually  fed  more  grain  and  hay  than  the  cow. 
In  other  words,  the  food  of  the  horse  is  usually  richer  in  the  val- 
uable elements  of  plant-food  than  the  ordinary  food  of  the  cow. 
3d.  The  milk  of  the  cow  abstracts  considerable  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  etc.,  from  the  food,  and  to  this  extent  there  is  less  of 
these  valuable  substances  in  the  excrements.  3d.  The  excrements 
of  the  cow  contain  much  more  water  than  those  of  the  horse.  And 
consequently  a  ton  of  cow-dung,  other  things  being  equal,  would 
not  con'ain  as  much  actual  manure  as  a  ton  of  horse-dung. 

Boussingauit,  who  is  eminently  trustworthy,  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing interesting  facts  : 

A  horse  consumed  in  24  hours,  20  lbs.  of  hay,  6  lbs.  of  oats,  and 
43  lbs.  of  water,  and  voided  during  the  same  period,  3  lbs.  7  ozs. 
of  urine,  and  38  lbs.  2  ozs.  of  stolid  excrements. 

The  solid  excrements  contained  23^  lbs.  of  wa  er,  and  the  urine 
2  lbs.  6  ozs.  of  water. 

According  to  this,  a  horse,  eating  20  lbs.  of  hay,  and  6  lbs.  of  oats, 
per  day,  voids  in  a  year  nearly  seven  tons  of  solid  excrements,  and 
1,255  lbs.  of  urine. 

It  would  seem  that  there  must  have  been  some  mistake  in  col- 
lecting the  urine,  or  what  was  probably  the  case,  that  some  of  it 
must  have  been  absorbed  by  the  dung ;  for  3^  pints  of  urine  per 
day  is  certainly  much  less  than  is  usually  voided  by  a  horse. 


BOBSB  MANUKE  AND  FARM-YARD  MANURE.      51 

Stockard  gives  the  amount  of  urine  voided  by  a  horse  in  a  year 
ai  3.000  lbs. ;  a  cow,  8,000  lbs. ;  sheep,  ;W0  lbs. ;  pig,  1,200  lbs. 

Dr.  Vuileker,  at  the  liuyal  Agrieultural  College,  at  Cirencester, 
England,  made  some  valualile  investigations  in  regard  to  the  com- 
position of  farm-yard  manure,  and  the  changes  which  take  place 
during  fermentation. 

The  manure  was  composed  of  horse,  cow,  and  pig  dung,  mixed 
with  the  straw  used  for  bedding  in  tbe  stalls,  pig-pens,  sheds,  etc 

On  the  3d  of  November,  1854,  a  sample  of  what  Dr.  Voelckei 
calls  "  Fresh  Long  Dung,"  was  taken  from  the  "  manure-pit "  foi 
anal}'sis.     It  had  Iain  in  the  pit  or  heap  about  14  days. 

The  following  is  the  result  of  the  an:dysis : 

FRESH    FARM-YARD    M.VNURE. 

HALF  A  TON,  OK  1,000  I,1«S. 

Water 661.7  lbs. 

Organic  matter 2s'2.4  " 

Ash 55.9  " 

1,0(W).0  lbs. 
Nitrogen 6.43  " 

"  Before  you  go  any  farther,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  let  me  under- 
stand what  these  figures  mean  ?  Do  you  mean  that  a  ton  of 
manure  contains  only  12J  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  111  lbs.  of  ash,  and 
that  all  the  rest  is  carbonaceous  matter  and  water,  of  little  or  no 
value  "  ? — "  That  is  it  precisely.  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  and  further- 
more, a  large  part  of  the  ash  has  very  little  fertilizing  value,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  following  : 

DETAILED  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  ASH  OF  FRESH  BARN-TARD  MANUBB. 

Soluble  silica 21..59 

Insoluble  silicious  matter  (sand) 10.04 

Phosphate  of  lime   5.35 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina,  with  phosphate 8.47 

Containing  phospheric  acid 3.18 

Lime 21.31 

Magnesia 376 

Potash 12104 

Soda 1.30 

Chloride  of  sodium 0.54 

Sulphuric  acid   I.49 

Carbonic  acid  and  loss *. .".  15.11 

100.00 
Nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  are  the  most  valuable  in- 
gredients in  manure.     It  will  be  seen  that  a  ton  of  fresh  barn-yard 
manure,  of  probabiy  good  average  quality,  contains: 

Nitrosren 12}  lbs. 

-  Phosphoric  acid  6i  " 

Potash 13i  '« 


52  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

I  do  not  say  that  these  arc  tlie  only  ingredients  of  any  value  in 
a  ton  of  manure.  Nearly  all  the  other  ingredients  are  indispen- 
sable to  the  growth  of  plants,  and  if  we  shouKl  use  manures  con- 
taining nothing  but  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  the 
time  would  come  when  the  crops  would  fail,  from  lack  of  a 
sufficient  quantity  of,  perhaps,  magnesia,  or  lime,  sulphuric  acid,  or 
soluble  silica,  or  iron.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  provision 
for  such  a  conting^'ncy.  I'  would  be  a  very  exceptional  case. 
Farmers  who  depend  mainly  on  barn-yard  manure,  or  on  plowing 
under  green  crops  for  keejjiug  up  the  fertility  of  the  land,  may 
safely  calculate  that  the  value  of  the  manure  is  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  it  contains. 

We  draw  out  a  ton  of  fresh  manure  and  spread  it  on  the  land, 
therefore,  in  order  to  furnish  the  growing  crops  with  12f  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  Gi  los.  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  13J  lbs.  of  potash. 
Less  than  33  lbs.  in  all  ! 

We  cannot  dispense  with  farm-yard  manure.  We  can  seldom 
buy  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as  cheaply  as  we  can 
get  them  in  home-made  manures.  But  we  should  clearly  under- 
stand the  fact  that  we  draw  out  2,000  lbs.  of  matter  in  order  to 
get  33  lbs.  of  these  fertilizing  ingredients.  We  should  try  to 
iruike  rirfwr  manvrc.  A  ton  of  manure  containing  GO  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  costs  no  more  to  draw  out 
and  spread,  than  a  ton  containing  only  30  lbs.,  and  it  would  be 
worth  nearly  or  quite  double  the  money. 

How  to  make  richer  manure  we  will  not  discuss  at  this  time.  It 
is  a  question  of  food.  But  It  is  worth  while  to  enquire  if  we  can 
not  take  such  manure  as  we  have,  and  reduce  its  weight  and  bulk 
■without  losing  any  of  its  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash. 


CHAPTEE     XIV. 

FERMENTING   [MANURE. 

Dr.  VoRlcker  placed  2,838  lbs.  of  fresh  mi.xed  manure  in  a  heap 
Nov.  3,  1854,  and  the  next  spring,  April  30,  it  weighed  2,020  lbs., 
a  shrinkage  in  weight  of  28.6  per  cent.  In  other  words  100  tons 
of  sach  manure  wouM  bo  reduced  to  less  than  7U  tons. 

Tlie  heap  was  weig^ied  again,  August  231,  and  contained  1,994 
lbs.    It  was  again  weighed  Nov.  15,  and  contained  1,974  lbs 


FERMENTING    MANUKE. 


53 


The  following  tabic  shows  the  composition  of  the  heap  when 
first  put  up,  and  also  at  the  three  subsequent  periods: 

TAULK  SUOWINU  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  WHOLE  HEAP  ;  FRESH  FARM-TARD  MANTRE 
(NO.  I.;  EXPOSED— EXPRESSED  IN  13S. 


Wlien  put 
vp  iVOf. 
3, 1854. 


April    30. 
1855. 


Weij;ht  of  manure  iu  lbs 

Aint.  of  water  in  llic  manure 

Anit.  of  dry  matter  in  llie  manure 

Consisting  of — 

Soluble  ori^anic  matter f 

SohiDle  mineral  matter J 

Insoluble  oru'anic  matter J 

Insoluble  mineral  matter (_ 

Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

ContainiD'.,'  nitrogen 

Equal  lo  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrojjen  in  manure. 
Equal  to  ammonia 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  ic 
free  state ....   

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in 
form  oi  salts,  easily  decomposed  by 
quicklime  

Total  amount  of  organic  matters. . . 

Total  amount  of  mineral  matters. . . 


2,838 

1.877.0 
%0.1 

70.38 
43.71 
731.07 
114.94 


2,026 

1.336.1 
089.9 

86.51 

57.88 

3S9.74 

155.77 


960.1 

4.22 

5  12 

14.01 

17.02 


18.23 
22.14 


2.49 
801.45 
15S.15 


689.9. 

6.07 

7.-37 

12.07 

14.65 


Aug.  23, 

1855. 


1,994 

1,505.3 

488.7 

5S.S3 

39.16 

243.22 

147.49 


488.7 

3.76 
4.56 
9.38 
11.40 


Nov.  15, 
1855. 


1,974 

1,466  5 
507.5 

54.04 
:».89 
214.92 
201.65 


507.5 

3.65 
4. .36 
9..38 
11.39 


18.14 
32.02 


.15 


1.71 
476.25 
213.65 


13.14 
15.96 


.20 


.75 
302.05 
186.65 


13.03 
15.75 


268.96 
2.38.54 


"  It  will  be  remarked,"  says  Dr.  Voelcker,  "  that  in  the  first  ex- 
periraental  period,  the  fermcnlation  of  the  dung,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  proceeded  most  rapidly,  but  that,  notwithstanduig, 
very  little  nitrogen  was  dissipated  in  the  form  of  volatile  ammonia ; 
and  that  on  the  whole,  the  loss  which  the  manure  sustained  was 
inconsiderable  when  compared  with  the  enormous  waste  to  which 
it  was  subject  in  the  subsequent  warmer  and  more  rainy  seasons  of 
the  year.  Thus  we  find  at  the  end  of  April  very  nearly  the  same 
amount  of  nitrogen  which  is  contained  in  the  fresh ;  whereas,  at 
the  end  of  August,  27  0  per  cent  of  the  total  nitrogen,  or  nearly 
one-third  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure,  has  been  wasted  in  one 
way  or  the  other. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  observation,"  continues  Dr.  Voelcker,  "  that, 
during  a  well-regulated  fermentation  of  dung,  the  loss  in 
intrinsically  valuable  constituents  is  inconsiderable,  and  that  in 
such  a  preparatory  process  the  effic  icy  oj  the  munnre  becomes  greatly 
enhanced.    For  certain  purposes  fresh  dung  can  never   take  the 


54 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


place  of  well-rotted  duns:.  *  *  Tlic  farmer  will,  therefore,  al- 
ways be  compelled  to  submit  a  portion  of  home-made  dung  to 
fermentation,  and  will  find  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  this  pro- 
cess, when  well  regulated,  is  not  attended  with  any  serious  de- 
preciation of  the  value  of  the  manure.  In  tlie  foregjing  analyses 
he  will  find  the  direct  proof  that  as  long  as  heavy  showers  of  rain 
are  excluded  from  manure-heaps,  or  the  manure  is  kept  in  water- 
proof pits,  the  most  valuable  fertilizing  matters  are  preserved." 

This  experiment  of  Dr.  Voelcker  pnnes  conclusively  that  manure 
can  be  kept  in  a  rapid  state  of  fermentation  for  six  montlis  during 
winter,  with  little  loss  of  nitrogen  or  other  fertilizing  matter. 

During  fermentation  a  portion  of  the  insoluble  matter  of  the 
dung  becomes  soluble,  and  if  tiie  manure  is  then  kept  in  a  heap 
exposed  to  rain,  there  is  a  great  loss  of  fertilizing  matter.  This  is 
precisely  what  we  sliould  expect.  We  ferment  manure  to  make  it 
more  readily  available  as  plant-food,  and  when  we  have  attained 
our  object,  the  manure  should  be  applied  to  tlie  land.  We  keep 
winter  appk's  in  the  cell.ir  until  they  get  ripe.  As  soon  as  they  are 
ripe,  they  sliould  be  eaten,  or  thry  will  rapidly  decay.  This  is  well 
understood.  And  it  should  be  equally  well  known  that  manure, 
after  it  has  been  fermenting  in  a  heap  for  six  mcmths,  cannot  safely 
be  kept  for  another  six  montlis  exposed  to  the  weather. 

Tlie  following  table  s'lows  the  composition  of  100  lbs.  of  the 
farm-yard  manure,  at  different  periods  of  the  year  : 

COMPOSITION    OP    100   LBS.    OP  PI5ESH    PAHM-YARD    MANTHE    (NO.    I.)   EXPOSED    IN 
NATURAL  STATE,  AT  DIPPERKNT  PERIODS  OP  THE  YEAB. 


Whenput 
up.  Nod. 
3,  lS.-)4. 


Ffh    1-1,1 /t/w.  30. 
ia").5.        1855. 


Anq.^.\Nm.  15, 
18.55.        18.55. 


Water 

Soliil)!e  orsanic  matter 

Soluble  inorganic  inalter. . 
Insoluble  ori^aiiic  mutter. . 
Insoluble  mineral  matter.. 


Coiitaininij  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Ammonia  in  a  free  state 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts  easily  de- 
composed by  quicklime 

Total  amt.  of  oriranic  m.itter 

Total  amt.  of  miner.il  substances.. 


(■,(!.  17 
a-is 
l.-5t 

!J5.7C. 
4.05 


100.0!) 
.149 
.181 
.494 
..599 
.r>43 
.7H0 
.0.34 

.088 
28.21 
5..59 


69.8.3 
3.S« 
2.97 

18.44 
4.90 


100.00 
.27 
.3! 
.47 
..57 
.74 
.89 
.019 

.Ofil 
2-).3') 

7.87 


65.95 
4.27 
2.86 

19.23 
7.69 


75.49 
2.95 
1.97 

12.20 
7..39 


74  29 
2.74 

1.87 
10.89 
10.21 


100.00 
..30 
..% 
.59 
.71 
.89 
l.t)7 
.008 

.085 
23.. 50 
10..55 


100.00 
.19 
.23 
.47 
.(!2 
.06 
.R5 
.010 


100.00 
.18 
.21 
.47 
..57 
.r)5 
.78 
.(KMJ 


.038'         on 
15.15  I      r.r..3 

9  3'i  1-'0< 


It  will  be  seen  that  two-thirds  of  the  fresh  manure  is  water. 
After  fermenting  in  an  exposed  heap  for  six  mtrnths,  it  still  cou' 


FERMENTING    MANUKE. 


55 


tains  about  tlic  same  percentage  of  water.  When  ki'j)t  in  tlit;  licap 
until  Aui^usl,  the  pcrcoulagL'  of  water  is  nuicli  greater.  Uf  four 
tons  of  such  manure,  tliree  tons  arc  water. 

Of  Nitrogt  n,  tlie  most  valuable  inj^reilient  of  the  manure,  the 
fresh  dung,  contained  U.G-4  per  cent ;  after  fermenting  six  mouths,  it 
contained  0.89  per  cent.  Six  months  later,  it  contained  0.65  per 
cent,  or  about  the  same  amount  as  the  fresh  manure. 

Of  mineral  matter,  or  ash,  this  fresh  farm-yard  mauure  con- 
tained 5.59  per  cent ;  of  which  1.54  was  soluble  in  water,  and  4.05 
insoluble.  After  fermentini,^  in  the  heap  for  six  months,  the  ma- 
nure contained  10.55  per  cent  of  ash,  of  which  2.80  was  sohiljle, 
and  7.GU  insoluble.  Six  mouths  later,  the  soluble  ash  had  de- 
creased to  1.97  per  cent. 

The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  the  manure,  at 
ditFereut  periods,  in  the  dry  st  ite.  In  other  words,  supposing  all 
the  water  to  be  removed  from  the  manure,  its  composition  would 
be  as  follows : 

COMPOSITION  OP  PRESH  FARM  YARD  MANURE  (NO.  I.)  EXPOSED.     CALCULATED  DRY. 


Wlienpul    Feb.     April  ;  Aug. 
vp.  Aov.l     14,     '     .JU,         23, 
3,  18.>1.       law.   I    1855.    I   1855. 


Nov. 

15, 

1855. 


Soluble  organic  matter. . . 
Soluble  inorganic  matter. 
Insoluble  organic  matter. 
Insoluble  mineral  matter. 


T..33 

4.55 

76.15 

ll.!)7 


12.79 

12..'>4 

12.04 

10.65 

9.84 

8.3i» 

8.03 

7.27 

61.13 

56.49 

4II.77 

42.35 

16.25 

22.58 

30.10 

39.73 

Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Ammonia  in  free  etato 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts  easily  decom- 
posed by  quicklime 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter 

Total  amount  of  mineral  substances  . . 


100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

.44 

.91 

.88 

..53 

1.10 

1.06 

].!6 

1.55 

1.75 

1.77 

1.08 

2.12 

1.00 

2.46 

2.(S 

2.30 

2.98 

3.18 

.10 

.062 

.02:3 

.26 

.212 

240 

83.48 

73.01 

60.05 

16.52 

26.09 

30.97 

100.00 

.77 
.93 
1.92 
2.33 
2.00 
3.26 
.041 

.1.54 
61.81 
38.19 


100.00 

.72 
.88 
1.85 
2.24 
2.57 
3.12 
.023 

.159 
53.00 
47.00 


"  A  comparison  of  these  different  analyses,"  says  Dr.  Voekker, 
"  points  out  clearly  the  changes  which  fresh  farm-yard  manure  un- 
dergoes on  keeping  in  a  heap,  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
weather  during  a  period  of  twelve  months  and  twelve  days. 

"  1.  It  will  be  perceived  that  the  proportion  of  organic  matter 
steadily  diminishes  from  month  to  month,  until  the  original  per- 
centage of  organic  matter  in  the  dry  manure,  amounting  to  83.48 
per  cent,  becomes  reduced  to  53  per  cent. 

"2  On  the  other  hand,  the  total  percentage  of  mineral  matter 
rises  as  steadily  as  that  of  the  organic  matter  falls. 


56  TALKS   ON   MANUEES. 

"  3.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  loss  in  organic  matter  affects  the 
percentage  of  insoluble  organic  matters  more  than  the  percentage 
of  soluble  organic  substances. 

*'  4.  The  percentage  of  soluble  organic  matters,  indeed,  increased 
considerably  during  the  tirst  experimental  period  ;  it  rose,  namely, 
from  7.33  per  cent  to  12.79  per  cent.  Examined  again  on  the  30th 
of  April,  very  nearly  the  same  percentage  of  soluble  organic  matter, 
as  on  February  the  14th,  was  found.  The  August  analysis  shows 
but  a  slight  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  soluble  f>rganic  matters, 
while  there  is  a  decrease  of  2  per  cent  of  soluble  organic  matt(  rs 
when  the  November  analysis  is  compared  with  the  February'  an- 
alysis. 

"  5.  The  soluble  mineral  matters  in  this  manure  rise  or  fall  in 
the  different  experimental  periods  in  the  same  order  as  the  soluble 
organic  matters.  Thus,  in  February,  9.84  per  cent  of  soluble 
mineral  matters  were  found,  whilst  the  manure  contained  only  4.55 
per  cent,  when  put  up  into  a  heap  in  November,  1854.  Gradually, 
however,  the  proportion  of  soluble  mineral  matters  again  dimm- 
ished,  and  became  reduced  to  7.27  per  cent,  on  the  examination  of 
the  manure  in  November,  1855. 

"  6.  A  similar  regularity  will  be  observed  in  the  percentage  of 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  soluble  organic  matters. 

"  In  the  insoluble  organic  matters,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen 
regularly  increased  from  November,  1854,  up  to  the  23d  of  Au- 
gust, notwithstanding  the  rapid  diminution  of  the  percentage  of 
insoluble  organic  matter.  For  the  last  experimental  period,  the 
percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  insoluble  matter  is  nearly  the  same 
as  on  August  23d. 

"  8.  "With  respect  to  the  total  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  fresh 
manure,  examined  at  different  periods  of  the  year,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  February  manure  contains  about  one-half  per  cent  more 
of  nitrogen  than  the  manure  in  a  perfectly  fresh  state.  On  the 
30th  of  April,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  again  slightly  increased ; 
on  A.ugust  23d,  it  remained  stationary,  and  had  sunk  but  very  lit- 
tle when  last  examined  on  the  loth  of  November,  1855. 

"  This  series  of  analyses  thus  shows  that  fresh  farm-yard  manure 
rapidly  becomes  more  soluble  in  water,  but  that  this  desirable 
change  is  realized  at  the  expense  of  a  large  proportion  of  organic 
matters.  It  likewise  proves,  in  an  unmistakable  manner,  that 
there  is  no  advantage  in  keeping  farm-yard  manure  for  too  long  a 
period  ;  for,  after  February,  neither  the  percentage  of  soluble  or- 
ganic, nor  that  of  soluble  mineral  matter,  has  become  greater, 


PERMEJmNG   MANURE. 


57 


and  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  mauuru  of  April  and  August 
is  only  u  very  liltle  higher  than  in  February." 

"Before  you  go  any  further,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  answer  me 
this  question :  Suppose  1  take  five  tons  of  farm-yard  manure,  and  put 
it  in  a  heap  on  the  od  of  November,  tell  me,  1st,  what  that  heap 
will  contain  when  tirst  made;  2d,  what  the  heap  will  contain 
April  30th  ;  and,  31,  what  the  heap  will  contain  August  23d." 

Here  is  the  table : 


CONTENTS  OP  A  HEAP  OP  MANURE  AT  DIPPERENT  PERIODS,  EXPOSED  TO  RAIK,  BTO. 


I  When  put 
up,  Sov. 
'        3. 


Total  wfiarht  of  manure  in  heap  I    lO.Oi'H) 


Wat'T  in  the  heap  of  manure. . 

Tutal  organic  matter  

Total  inori.'anic  matter 

Total  nitro'ca  in  heap 

Total  soluble  organic  matter. . . 
Total  insoluble  organic  matter 

Soluble  mineral  matter 

Insoluble  mineral  matter  

Nitrogen  in  soluble  matter 

Nitrogen  in  insoluble  matter. . . 


6.617 
2,824 

mi 

64.3 

^48 
2..576 

154 

40.5 
14.9 
49.4 


April  30. 

Aug.  23. 

'tarn 

7.025 

4.707 

o.*)4 

1,678 

1,04 

75:^ 

6.57 

6:3.9 

46.3 

30.5 

207 

1,373 

857 

204 

138 

549 

519 

21.4 

13.2 

42.5 

33.1 

Nov.  15. 


The  Deacon  put  on  his  spectacles  and  studied  the  above  table 
carefully  for  some  time.  "  That  tells  the  whole  storv,"  said  he 
"  you  put  five  tons  of  fresh  manure  in  a  heap,  it  ferments  and  o-ets 
warm,  and  nearlj'  one  ton  of  water  is  driven  off"  by  the  heat." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you  see  that  over  half  a  ton  (1,146  lbs.) 
of  dry  organic  matter  has  been  slowly  burnt  up  in  the  heap;  giv- 
ing out  as  much  heat  as  lialf  a  ton  of  coal  burnt  in  a  stove.  But 
this  is  not  all.  The  manure  is  cooked,  and  steamed,  and  softened 
by  the  process.  The  organic  matter  burnt  up  is  of  no  value. 
There  is  little  or  no  loss  of  nitrogen.  The  heap  contained  64.3  lbs. 
of  nitrogen  when  put  up,  and  63.9  lbs.  after  fe  menting  six  months. 
Aud  it  is  evident  that  the  manure  is  in  a  much  more  active  and 
available  condition  than  if  it  had  been  applied  to  the  land  in  the 
fresh  state.  There  was  14.9  lbs.  of  nitrogen  in  a  soluble  condition 
in  the  fresh  manure,  and  21.4  lbs.  in  the  fermented  manure.  And 
what  is  equally  important,  you  will  notice  that  there  is  154  lbs.  of 
soluble  ash  in  the  heap  of  fresh  manure,  ami  204  ll)s.  in  the  heap 
of  fermented  manure.  In  other  words,  50  lbs.  of  the  insoluble 
mineral  matter  had,  by  the  fermentation  of  the  manure,  been  ren- 
dered soluble,  and  consequently  immediately  available  as  plant- 
food.     This  is  a  very  important  fact." 

The  Doctor  is  riglit.    There  is  clearly  a  great  advantage  in  fer- 
menting manure,  provided  it  is  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  pre- 


58  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

vent  loss.  We  have  uot  only  less  maiuiro  to  draw  out  and  spread, 
but  the  plant-food  which  it  contains,  is  more  soluble  and  active. 
The  table  we  have  given  shows  that  there  is  little  or  no  loss  of 
valuable  constituents,  even  when  manure  is  fermented  in  the  open 
air  and  exposed  to  ordinary  rain  and  snows  during  an  English 
winter.  But  it  also  shows  tliat  when  the  manure  has  been  fer- 
mented for  six  months,  and  is  then  turned  and  left  exposed  to  the 
rain  of  spring  and  summer,  the  loss  is  very  considerable. 


The  five  tons  (10,000  lbs.,)  of  fresh  manure  placed  in  a  heap  on 
the  8d  of  November,  are  reduced  to  7,138  lbs.  by  the  aoth  of  April. 
Of  this  4,707  lbs.  is  water.  By  the  2ad  of  August,  the  heap  is  re- 
duced to  7,025  lbs.,  of  which  5,804  lbs.  is  water.  There  is  nearly 
600  lbs.  more  water  in  the  heap  in  August  than  in  April. 

Of  total  nitrogen  in  the  heap,  there  is  64.;}  lbs.  in  the  fresh 
manure, 6;}. 9  lbs.  in  April,  and  only  46.3  lbs.  in  August.  This  is  a 
great  loss,  and  there  is  no  (compensating  gain. 

We  have  seen  that,  when  five  tons  of  manure  is  fermented  for  six 
months,  in  winter,  the  nitrogen  in  the  soluble  organic  matter  is 
increased  from  14.9  lbs.  to  21.4  lbs.  This  is  a  decided  advantage 
But  when  the  manure  is  kept  for  another  six  months,  this  soluble 
nitrogen  is  decreased  from  21.4  lbs.  to  13.2  ll-.s.  We  lose  over  8 
lbs.  of  the  mopt  active  and  availa])le  nitrogen. 

And  the  same  remarks  will  apply  to  the  valuable  soluble  mineral 
matter.  In  the  five  tons  of  fresh  manure  there  is  154  Ib.s.  of  soluble 
mineral  matter.  By  fermenting  the  heap  six  months,  we  get  204 
lbs.,  but  by  keeping  the  manure  six  months  longer,  the  soluble 
mineral  matter  is  reduced  to  138  lbs.  We  lose  66  lbs.  of  valu- 
able soluble  mineral  matter. 

By  fermenting  manure  for  six  months  in  winter,  we  greatly  im- 
prove its  condition;  by  keepin^r  it  six  months  longer,  we  lose 
largely  of  the  very  best  and  most  active  parts  of  the  manure. 


H.KBP1NU   MANUBE   UNDER   COVSB. 


59 


CHAPTER    XV. 


KEEPING    MANURE    UNDER   COVER 

Dr.  Voekker,  at  the  same  time  he  made  the  experiments  alluded 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  plaeed  anollar  heap  of  manure  under 
cover,  in  a  shed.  It  was  tlie  same  kind  of  manure,  and  was  treated 
precisely  as  tlie  other— the  only  difference  heiriirthat  one  heap  was 
exposed  to  the  rain,  and  tiie  other  not.  Tlie  following  tahle  i^ivcs 
the  results  <jf  the  weighings  of  the  heap  at  ditferent  times,  and  also 
the  percentage  of  loss  : 

MANURE    FERMENTED    UNDER    COVER    IN    SHED. 

TABLE  SnoWINti  THE  ACTUAL  WEIOIUNGS,  AND   TERCESTAGE   OF   LOSS    IN  WEIGHT, 

or  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP   (NO.  II.)  FRESH  FARMYARD  MANURE  CNDEB 

8HED,  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


WtXf/hl 

of 
Manure 
ill  Lb.'i. 

£o.w  ill 

Ot-ifjiiuU 

weifiht 

in  Lba. 

PerceiA 
age  of 
Loss. 

3,258 
1,613 
1,297 
1,235 

1,645 
1,961 
2,023 

Weighed  <in  the  i'\\\i  of  April,  ISoo,  or  after  a  lapse 

of  6  months 

Weighed  on  the  i!d  of  August,  1855,  or  after  a  lapse 

50.4 
60.0 

Weighed  on  the  15th  of  Xovember,  185.^,  or  after  a 
lapse  of  12  months  and  lidays 

62.1 

It  will  be  seen  that  100  tons  of  manure,  kept  in  a  heap  under 
cover  for  six  months,  would  be  reduced  to  49.6-tO  tons.  Whereas, 
•when  the  same  manure  was  fermented  for  the  same  length  of  time 
in  the  open  air,  the  100  tons  was  reduced  to  only  71.4-10  tons. 
The  difference  is  due  ])rincipa]ly  to  the  fact  that  the  heap  exposed 
contained  more  water,  derived  from  rain  and  snow,  than  the  heap 
kept  under  cover.  This,  of  course,  is  what  we  should  expect. 
Let  us  look  at  the  results  of  Dr.  Vcelcker's  analyses : 


60 


TALKS    OX   MANURES. 


TABLB  SHOWING  THE  COMPOSITION  OP  EXPERIMENTAL  UEAP  (NO.  II.)  FRESH  FABH- 

TABD  MANURE  UNDER  SUED,  IN  NATUiiAL  STATE  AT  DIFFERENT 

PERIODS  OF  THE   TEAK. 


When  put 
up,  Nov 
3,1854. 


Feb.  14, 
1&55. 


Apr.  30, 
1855. 


.•lMf7.  23, 
1855. 


Nov.  15, 
1855. 


Water 

*Soliibli;  organic  matter 

Soluble  inorganic  matter 

tinsoluble  organic  matter 

Insoluble  mineral  matter 

♦Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

tContaining  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

F.qual  to  ammonia  

Anirn.>.iia  in  frc(!  state 

Ammonia  in  form  of  silts  easily  de- 
composed by  quicklime 

Total  amount  of  oi.:auic  matter 

Tot;il  amount  of  mineral  substance.. 


66.17 

2.4-i 

67.33 

56.89 
4.63 

43.43 
4.13 

1..M 

2.12 

3.38 

3.05 

25  76 

20.46 

25.43 

26.01 

4.05 

7.47 

9.67 

2;i.:i8 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

.149 

.17 

.27 

.26 

.181 

.20 

.32 

.31 

.4!J4 

.58 

.92 

1.01 

.599 

.70 

1.11 

1.23 

.643 

.75 

1.19 

1.27 

.780 

.90 

1.4;? 

l.W 

.0:J4 

.022 

.055 

.015 

.088 

.0.54 

.101 

.103 

28.24 

2:?.  09 

30.06 

30.14 

5.59 

9.59 

13.05 

26.43 

41.66 

5.37 

4.43 

27.69 

20.85 


100.00 

.42 
.51 
1.09 
1.31 
1.51 
1.82 
.019 

.146 
33.06 
25.28 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (NO.  H.)  FRESH  FARM- 
YARD MANURE  UNDER  SHED,  CALCULATED  DRY,  AT  DIFFERENT 
PERIODS  OF  THE  TEAIt. 


Whe)i  put 
up,  Nov. 
3,  1854. 


♦Soluble  organic  matter. . 
Soluble  inorganic  matter. . 
tinsoluble  organic  matter. 
Insoluble  mineral  matter.. 


7.33 

4..55 
76.15 
11.97 


•Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

tContainiug  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammoii^a 

Total  amount  of  "nitrogen ...... 

Equal  to  ammonia ' 

Ammonia  in  free  state ! .'.'.'..'.'.. 

.\mmonia  in  form  of  salts,  easily  de 

composed  by  quicklime 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter.     . . 
Total  amount  of  mineral  substance 


.44 
.,53 
1.46 
1.77 
1  90 
2.30 
.10 

.26 

83.48 
16..'-i2 


Feb.  14,  L4/W-.  .30. 
1855.        1855. 


8.04 

6.48 

62.60 

22.88 


10.74 

7.84 

58.99 

22.43 


Auo.2S.\yov.  15, 
1855.        1855. 


7.30 

5.39 

45.97 

41.34 


100.00        100.00      100.00   I  100.00 


.53 

.63 

.m 

.7.'j 

1.77 

2.14 

2.14 

2.59 

2.30 

2.77 

2.80 

3.a5 

.0:!7 

.127 

.165 

.2.% 

70.61 

69.7:i 

■29.:^6 

30  27 

.46 

..5(i 
1.78 
2.16 
2.24 
2.72 

,026 

.182 
53.27 
46.73 


9.20 

7.59 

47.46 

35.75 


100.00 

.72 

.8S 
1.88 
2  20 
2.(50 
.3.n« 

.032 

.250 
5fi.r6 
43.34 


The  above  analyses  are  of  value  to  those  who  buy  fresh  and  fer- 
mented manure.  They  can  form  some  idea  of  what  they  are  get- 
tinc:.  If  they  buy  a  ton  of  frcsb  manure  in  November,  they  get 
12|  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  30|  lbs.  of  soluble  mineral  matter.    If 


KEEPIXG    MANURE    UNDER   COVER. 


61 


they  buy  a  ton  of  tlic  same  manure  that  has  been  kept  under  cover 
until  Februury,  they  get,  nitroj^en,  15  lbs.;  soluble  minerals,  42.i 
lbs.  In  April,  tiiey  get,  nitrogen,  33|  lbs. ;  soluble  minerals,  67i 
lbs.  In  August,  they  get,  nitrogen,  3o|  lbs. ;  soluble  minerals,  61 
lbs.  In  November,  when  the  manure  is  over  one  year  old,  they 
get,  in  a  ton,  nitrogen,  30i  lbs.  ;  soluble  minerals,  88^  lbs. 

When  manure  his  not  been  exposed,  it  is  clear  that  a  purchaser 
can  afford  to  pay  considerably  more  for  a  ton  of  rotted  manure 
than  for  a  ton  of  fresh  manure.  But  waiving  this  point  for  the 
present,  let  us  see  how  the  matter  sUmds  with  the  farmer  who 
makes  and  uses  the  manure.  What  does  he  gain  by  keeping  and 
fermenting  the  manure  under  cover  ? 

The  following  table  shows  the  weight  and  composition  of  the 
entire  heap  of  manure,  kept  under  cover,  at  different  times : 

TABLE   SHOWlXa    C IMPOSITION    OP    EXTir.E   EXPEKtMEXTAL  HEAP  (NO.  11.)   FRESH 
FARM-TAUD   MANURE,    UNDER  SUED. 


i  ^'^P''^  April  30,'  An;;.  23,  [  Nor.  15, 


1855. 


1855. 


1&^)5. 


fl)s. 
Weight  of  manure 3.258. 


ft  8. 
1,013. 


Amount  of  water  in  the  manure 2,150. 

Amount  of  dry  matter 1,102. 

♦Consistiiis  of  soluble  organic  matter.. . 


Soluble  mineral  matter, 
tlnsoluble  organic  matter. 
Insoluble  mineral  matter. . 


♦Containing  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

tContaining  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia     ... 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  manure. . . . 

Equal  to  ammonia     

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  free 
state 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  form 
of  Baits,  easily  decomposed  by  quick- 
lime    

Total  amount  of  organic  matter 

Total  amount  of  mineral  matter 


50.14 

a3;i.iT 

131.92 


1,102. 


4.S5 
5.88 
16.08 
19.52 
20.93 
25.40 

1.10 


2  86 
919.94 

182.06 


917.6 
695.4 
74.68 
54.51 
410.24 
155.97 

695.4 

4.38 
5..33 
14.88 
17.46 
19.26 
22.79 


lbs. 
1,297. 


5(«.2 
733.8 
53..56 
39.55 
.337.32 
303.37 


B>s. 
1,2.35. 


733.8 

3.46 

4.20 
13.08 
1.5.88 
16.54 
20.08 


1.62 

484.92 
210.48 


.19 


1.33  1 

390.88  1 
342.92  , 


514.5 
720.5 
66.28 
54.68 
»4].97 
257.57 

720.5 

5.25 
6.37 
13..54 
1644 

18.79 
22.81 

.23 


1.80 
408.25 
312.35 


This  is  the  table,  as  given  by  Dr.  Voelcker.  For  the  sake  of 
comparison,  we  will  figure  out  what  the  changes  would  be  in  a 
heap  of  five  tons  (10,000  lbs.)  of  manure,  when  fermented  under 
cover,  precisely  in  the  same  way  as  we  did  with  the  heap  fer- 
mented in  the  open  air,  exposed  to  the  rain.  The  following  is  the 
table: 


62 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


OONTBNTS  or  A  HEAP  OF   MANUUB  AT  DIFFEUENT   TERIODS. 

COVBB. 


FERMENTED    UNUEB 


Total  weight  of  manure  in  heap... 

Water  in  the  he:i|)  of  manure 

Total  orj.'anic  mutter 

Total  inorganic  mutter 

Total  nitrogen  iu  heap 

Total  8olul)lc  organic  matter 

Insoluble  organic  matter 

Solubli'  mineral  matter 

Insolul)le  niinerul  mutter  

Nitrogen  in  soluble  matti-r  

Nitr()g(!n  in  in><oluble  mutter 

Total  dry  matter  in  heap ' 


iVhen  put 

up.  A(W.3. 

0>s. 

lO.OOO 

fi.«17 

•2M4 

559 

ei..-} 

248 

2,576 

15t 

•105 

14.9 

49.4 

3.:it53 


April  no. 

S>8. 

4.960 

2,822 

1,400 

G46 

59 

2.10 

1,260 

lti7 

479 

13.4 

45.6 

2,038 


Aug.  23.      Nov.  15. 


lbs. 
4,000 
1.737 
1,205 
1,057 
50.8 
165 
1,040 
122 
ft35 
10.4 
40.4 
2,263 


lbs. 
3,790 
1.579 
1,253 
958 
57.2 
203.5 
1.049 
168 
790 
15.9 
41.3 
2,211 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  heap  of  manure  kept  under  cover  con- 
tained, on  the  IJOlli  of  April,  Uss  soluble  ori^anic  matter,  Icks  soluble 
mineral  mutter,  lt\is  soluble  nitrojjciious  matter,  and  kss  total  ni- 
trosren  than  tbe  heap  of  manure  exposed  to  tlio  weather.  This  is 
precisely  what  I  sliould  have  expected.  The  lieap  of  ntanure  in 
tbe  shed  probably  fermented  more  r  ipidly  than  the  heap  out  of 
doors,  aiitl  there  was  not  water  eno-.ii:h  in  the  manure  to  retain 
the  carbonate  of  ammonia,  or  to  favor  the  production  o'  organic 
acids.  T?ie  Ji^ap  teas  too  dry.  If  it  could  have  received  enough  of 
the  liquid  from  the  stables  to  have  kept  it  moderately  moist,  the 
result  would  have  been  very  ditrercnt. 

We  will  i>ostpone  furtlier  cimsideration  of  this  point  at  oresent, 
and  look  at  the  results  of  another  of  Dr.  Voelcker's  interesting 
exi»erlments. 

Dr.  Y(elcker  wished  to  ascertain  the  elfeet  of  three  common 
inctlidds  of  manairing  manun  : 

1st.  Keeping  it  in  a /(€7^  in  th(3  open  air  i:i  the  barn-yard,  or 
field. 

2d.  Keeping  it  in  a  Jieap  under  cover  in  a  shed. 

3d.  Keeping  it  spread  o'/t  over  the  barn-yard. 

"  You  say  these  are  common  methods  of  managing  manure," 
remarked  the  Deacon,  "  but  I  never  knew  any  one  in  this  country 
take  the  trouble  to  spread  manure  over  the  yard." 

"  Perhaps  not,"  I  replied,  "  but  you  have  known  a  good  many 
farmers  who  adopt  this  very  method  of  keeping  their  manure. 
They  do  not  spread  it — but  they  let  it  lie  spread  out  over  the 
yards,  just  wherever  it  happens  to  be." 

Let  us  see  what  the  etfect  of  this  treatment  is  on  the  composi- 
tion and  value  of  the  manure. 

We  have  examined  the  cflfect  of  keeping  manure  in  a  heaj)  in 


KKKl'lNG    manure:    UNDKK   C'OVKR. 


63 


the  open  air,  and  also  of  keeping  it  in  a  heaj)  uiuU-r  cover.  Now 
let  us  sec  Low  these  methods  compare  with  the  practice  of  ieav 
ing  it  exposed  to  the  rains,  spread  out  in  the  yard. 

On  the  ;jrd  of  Novemlnr,  1854,  Dr.  Va'kker  weighed  out  1,653 
ll»s.  of  manure  similar  to  thai  UM-d  in  the  preceding  experiments, 
and  spread  it  out  in  llie  yard.  It  was  weighed  April  yu,  and  again 
August  2;J,  and  November  15. 

The  following  table  gives  the  actual  weight  of  the  manure  at 
the  different  periods,  also  the  actual  amount  of  the  water,  organic 
matter,  ash,  nitrogen,  etc.  : 

TABLK   SHOWING    TRE    WKIiillT    AND    roMPOSITIOM   OP   ENTIBE   MAS8    OK    K.\PK1U- 

MK.-^TAL    MANL-KE   (NO.    Ml.),  FREI-II    KAK.M-Y.VBU    MANl  KL,  eil'UEAlJ   IN   OPEN 

TAKD  AT  DIFFEHENT  PEUIODS  OK  TUB    YEAB.      IN  KATUUAL  STATE. 


I  "^C"''Xv>ri/  .30/  Avg.  2.5,  I  Nov.  \:,, 
I  "/'i^"-      1855.  \k-,.  'I     1800. 


Weight  of  maDure . 


Amount  of  wator  in  the  manure '  1,09:1. 


Amount  of  dry  matter 

•Consistins  oif  soluble  orjjanic  matter. 

Soluble  rainenl  nuitter 

tlnsoluble  ori^nic  nintter 

Insoluble  miuural  matter 


•Containinff  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

+Ciintaininij  nitroijen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  iu  manure.... 

Equal  to  ammonia 

The  manure  contains  ammonia  in  free 
state 

Th'^  manure  c  )ntain9  ammonia  in  form 
of  salts,  easil}-  decomposed  by  quick- 
lime    " 

T>tal  amount  of  organic  matter 4fi^.M 

Total  anonnt  of  mineral  matter 9-i..'j6 


InO 

105 


.55  .28 
111.77  !  !»8.40 
190.93  228.80 


"One  moment,"  said  the  Deacon.  "These  tables  are  a  little 
confusing.  The  table  you  have  just  given  shows  the  actual  weight 
of  the  manure  in  the  heap,  and  what  it  contained  at  difiFercnt 
perioas." — "Yes,"  said  I.  "and  the  table  following  shows  what 
100  lbs  of  this  manure,  spread  out  in  the  yard,  contained  at  the 
different  dates  mentioned.  It  shows  how  greatly  manure  deterio- 
rates by  being  exposed  to  rain,  spread  out  on  the  surface  of  the 
yard.    The  table  merits  careful  study." 


64 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


TABLE  SHOWING   COMPOSITION  OP  EXPERIMENTAL   HEAP   (NO.  III.),  FRESH   FARH 

TAHD  MANURE,    SPREAD  IN   OPi:.N  YARD,   AT  DIFFERENT   PERIODS 

OF  THE  TEAR.      IN  NATURAL  STATE. 


Water 

♦Soluble  orf^anic  matter. . . 
Soluble  iucrj^anic  matter., 
tlusoluble  organic  matter 
Insoluble  miueral  matter.. 


*CoDtaining  nitrogen 

Equal  tn  ammonia  

tC'ontaining  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

Equal  lo  ammonia 

Ammonia  in  free  state 

Ammonia  in  form  of  isalts,  easily  decom- 
posed by  quicklime 

Total  amount  of  organic  matter 

Total  amount  of  mineral  substance 


WlvCnpui 

AprU  30, 

Aug.  2;^, 

Scv.  15 

3.  1854. 

1855. 

1855. 

1855. 

6H.17 

80.02 

70.09 

65.56 

2.48 

1.16 

.49 

.42 

1.54 

1.01 

.ti4 

.57 

25  76 

11  46 

10.56 

9.94 

4.05 

6.35 

18.22 

23.51 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

.149 

.08 

.06 

.03 

.181 

.1/9 

.07 

.0.36 

AM 

.45 

.35 

M 

.599 

.54 

.42 

.46 

.643 

.5S 

.41 

.39 

.780 

.63 

.49 

.4!;6 

.034 

.010 

.012 

.0006 

.0^8 

.045 

.051 

.030 

28. -.'4 

12.62 

11.05 

10..36 

5.59 

7.36 

18.86 

24.08 

The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  the  manure,  cal- 
culated dry : 

l^ABLE  8H0WTNG  COMPOSITION  OP  EXPERIMENTAL  HEAP  (nO.  III.),  FRESH  FARM 

YARD  MANURE,    SPREAD  IN  OPEN  YARD,   AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS 

OF  THE  TEAR.      CALCULATED  DRY. 


\  When  put 
up,  jVoc. 
1  3,  1851. 

AprU  30, 
1855. 

Attr/.  23, 
1855. 

Nov.  15, 
1855. 

♦Soluble  organic  matter  

7.33 
4.55 
76.15 
11.97 

100.00 

.44 

.53 
1.46 
1.77 
1.90 
2..30 

.10 

.26 
83.  J  8 
16.52 

5.80 

5.05 

57.37 

31.78 

1.64 
2.14 
35.30 
60.92 

1.21 
1.69 

30.86 

68.24 

*Containin!r  nitrogen 

Equal  to  ammonia 

tc'ontaining  nitroiren 

100.00 

.42 
.51 

2.28 
2.76 
2.70 
3.27 
.05 

.225 
63.17 
36.83 

100.00 

.CO 
.24 
1.17 
1.41 
1..37 
1.05 
.040 

.171 
36.94 
6306 

100.00 

.10 

.12 

1.09 

1.32 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen 

1.10 

Equal  to  ammonia 

l.!4 
.0017 

Ammonia  in  form  of  salts,  easily  decom- 
posed by  quicklime     

.087 
30.07 

Total  amount  of  mineral  substance 

69.93 

I  hare  made  out  the  following  table,  sliowing  what  would  be 
the  changes  in  a  he.ap  of  5  tons  (10,000  lbs.)  of  manure,  spread  out 
in  the  yard,  so  that  we  can  readily  see  the  effectvof  this  method  of 


KEEPING   MANURE    UNDER   COVER. 


65 


management  as  compared  with  the  other  two  methods  of  keeping 
tlie  manure,  in  compact  heaps,  one  exposed,  the  other  under  cover. 
The  following  is  the  table : 

lONTKNTS  OP  TKB  MASS  OP  MANURE,  SPKEAD  OUT  IN  FAJiMYARD,  AVD  EXPOSED 
TO  BAJM,  ETC. 


Total  weiglii  of  manure 

Waier  in  the  manure 

Total  orfranic  matter 

Total  inorganic  matter 

Totil  nitro<j;en  in  manure 

Total  soluble  orfjranic  matter. 

Insoluble  orirunic  matter 

Soluble  mineral  matter  

Insoluble  mineral  matter 

Nitrofren  in  ^iolubl-J  matter, .. 
Nitroirea  in  insoluble  matter. 


tVhen  spread 
out,  3w.  3 


.000 
,til7 
Mi 
559 
&1.3 
248 
,576 
154 
405 
14.9 
4!».4 


AprU  30. 

Aug  23. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

8.050 

6,180 

0,!)22 

4.297 

iM'i 

677 

6.% 

1,155 

45.9 

25 

100 

.30 

99-i 

647 

87 

39 

&19 

1,116 

6.9 

3.6  1 

39 

21.4  1 

iVop.  15. 


lbs. 
5.750 

3,';7i 

595 
1,384 
22.4 
24 
571 
.38 
1,.351 
1.7 
20.7 


It  is  not  necessary  to  make  many  remarks  on  this  table.  The 
facts  speak  for  themselves.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  consid- 
erable loss  even  by  letting  the  manure  lie  spread  out  until  spring; 
but,  serious  as  this  loss  is,  it  is  small  compared  to  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  allowing  the  manure  to  lie  exposed  in  the  yard  during 
the  summer. 

In  the  five  tons  of  fresh  manure,  we  have,  November  3,  64.3 
lbs.  of  nitrogen  ;  April  30,  we  have  46  lbs.  ;  August  23,  only  25 
lbs.  This  is  a  great  loss  of  the  most  valuable  constituent  of  the 
manure.  Of  soluble  mineral  matter,  the  next  most  valuable  ingre- 
dient, we  have  in  the  five  tons  of  fresh  manure,  November  3,  154 
lbs. ;  April  30,  87  lbs.  ;  and  August  23,  only  39  lbs.  Of  soluble 
nitrogen,  the  most  active  and  valuable  part  of  the  manure,  we 
have,  November  3,  nearly  15  lbs. ;  April  30,  not  quite  7  lbs. ; 
August  23,  3i  lbs. ;  and  November  15,  not  quite  If  lbs. 


Dr.  Voelcker  made  still  another  experiment.  He  took  1,613 
lbs.  of  veil-rotted  dung  (mixed  manure  from  horses,  cows,  and 
pigs,)  and  kept  it  in  a  heap,  exposed  to  the  weather,  from  Decem- 
ber 5  to  April  30,  August  23,  and  November  15,  weighing  it  and 
analyzing  it  at  these  different  dates.  I  think  it  is  not  necessarj'  to 
give  the  results  in  detail.  From  the  5th  of  December  to  the  30th 
of  April,  there  was  »o  loss  of  nitrogen  in  the  heap,  and  compar- 
atively little  loss  of  soluble  mineral  matters  ;  but  from  April  30  to 
August  23,  there  was  considerable  loss  in  both  these  valuable  in 
gredients,  which  were  washed  out  of  the  heap  by  rain. 


66  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Dr.  Voelcker  draws  the  following  conclusions  from  his  experi- 
ments : 

"  Having  described  at  length  my  experiments  with  farm-yard 
manure,"  he  says,  "  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  briefly  the  more 
prominent  and  practically  interesting  points  which  have  been 
developed  in  the  course  of  this  investigation.  I  would,  therefore, 
observe : 

"  1.  Perfectly  fresh  farm  yard  manure  contains  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  free  ammonia. 

"  2.  The  nitrogen  in  fresh  dung  exists  prmcipally  in  the  state  of 
insoluble  nitrogenized  matters. 

"  3.  The  soluble  organic  and  mineral  constituents  of  dung  are 
much  more  valuable  fertilizers  than  the  insoluble.  Particular 
care,  therefore,  should  be  bestowed  upon  the  preservation  of  the 
liquid  excrements  of  animals,  and  for  the  same  reason  the  manure 
sliould  be  kept  in  perfectly  water-proof  pita  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  render  the  setting  up  of  dung-heaps  in  the  corner  of  fields,  as 
much  as  it  is  possible,  unnecessary. 

"4.  Farm-yard  manure,  even  in  quite  a  fresh  state,  contains 
phosphate  of  lime,  which  is  mucli  more  soluble  than  has  hitherto 
been  suspected. 

"  5.  The  urine  of  the  tiorse,  cow,  and  pig,  does  not  contain  any 
appreciable  quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime,  whilst  the  drainings  of 
dung-heaps  contain  considerable  quantities  of  this  valuable  fer- 
tilizer. The  drainings  of  dun^-heaps,  partly  for  this  reason,  are 
more  valuable  than  the  urine  of  our  domestic  animals,  and,  there- 
fore, ought  to  be  prevented  by  all  available  means  from  running 
to  waste. 

"  6.  The  most  effectual  means  of  preventing  loss  in  fertilizing 
niatiere  is  to  cart  the  manure  directl}'  on  the  field  whenever  cir- 
cumstances allow  this  to  be  done. 

"7.  On  all  soils  with  a  moderate  proportion  of  clay,  no  fear 
need  to  be  entertained  of  valuable  fertilizing  substances  becoming 
wasted  if  the  manure  cannot  be  plowed  in  at  once.  Fresh,  and 
even  well-rotten,  dung  contains  very  little  free  ammonia ;  and 
since  active  fermentation,  and  with  it  the  further  evolution  of 
free  ammonia,  is  stopped  by  spreading  out  the  manure  on  the 
field,  valuable  volatile  manuring  matters  can  not  escape  into  the 
air  by  adopting  this  plan. 

"  As  all  soils  with  a  moderate  proportion  of  clay  possess  in  a 
remarkable  degree  the  power  of  absorbing  and  r.taining  manuring 
matters,  none  of  the  saline  and  soluble  organic  constituents  are 
wasted  even  by  a  heavy  fall  of  rain.     It  may,  indeed,  be  questioned 


KEEPIXG    MANURE    UNDER    COVER.  67 

whether  it  Is  more  advisable  lo  plow  in  the  manure  at  ouce,  or 
to  let  it  lie  for  some  time  on  the  surface,  and  to  give  the  rain  full 
opportunity  to  wash  it  into  the  soil. 

"  It  appears  lo  me  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  to  regulate 
the  application  of  manure  to  our  fields,  so  that  its  constituents 
may  become  properly  diluted  and  unitornily  distributed  anioni^st 
a  large  mass  of  soil.  By  jjlowing  in  the  manure  at  once,  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  this  desirable  end  can  not  be  reached  so  perfectly  as 
by  allowing  the  rain  to  wash  in  gradually  the  manure  evenly 
spread  on  the  surface  of  the  tield. 

"  By  adopting  such  a  cour.se,  in  case  practical  experience  should 
confirm  my  theoretical  reasoning,  the  objection  could  no  longer  be 
maintained  that  the  land  is  not  ready  for  carting  manure  upon  it. 
I  am  inclined  to  recommend,  as  a  general  rule :  Cart  the  manure 
on  the  field,  spread  it  at  once,  and  wait  for  a  favorable  ojiportu- 
nity  to  plow  it  in.  In  the  case  of  clay  soils,  I  have  no  hesitation 
to  say  the  manure  may  be  spread  even  six  months  before  it  is 
plowed  in,  without  losing  any  appreciable  quantity  in  inanuriiig 
matter. 

"  I  am  i)erfcctly  aware,  that  on  stiff  clay  land,  farm-yard  ma> 
nure,  more  especially  long  dun^,  when  plowed  in  before  the 
frost  sets  in,  exercises  a  most  beneficial  action  by  keeping  the 
soil  loose,  and  admitting  the  free  access  of  frost,  which  pulverizes 
tlic  land,  and  would,  therefore,  ])y  no  means  recommend  to  leave 
the  manure  spread  on  the  surface  without  plowing  it  in.  All  I 
wish  to  enforce  is,  that  when  no  other  choice  is  left  but  either  to 
set  up  the  manure  in  a  heap  in  a  corner  of  the  field,  or  to  spread 
it  on  the  field,  without  plowing  it  in  directly,  to  adopt  the  latter 
plan.  In  the  case  of  very  li;;ht  sandy  soils,  it  may  perhaps  not 
be  advisable  to  sjiread  out  the  manure  a  long  time  before  it  is 
plowed  in,  since  such  soils  do  not  possess  the  power  of  retaining 
manuring  matters  iu  any  marked  degree.  On  light  sandy  soils,  I 
would  suggest  to  manure  with  well-fermented  dung,  shortly  before 
the  crop  intended  to  be  grown  is  sown. 

"  8.  "Well-rotten  dung  contains,  likewisr;,  little  free  ammonia, 
but  a  very  much  larger  proportion  of  soluble  organic  and  saline 
mineral  matters  than  fresh  manure. 

"  9.  Rotten  dung  is  richer  in  nitrogen  than  fresh. 

"  10.  "Weight  for  weight,  rotten  dung  is  more  valuable  than 
fresh. 

"11.  In  the  fermentation  of  dung,  a  very  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  organic  matters  in  fresh  manure  is  dissipated  into  the 
air  in  the  form  of  carbonic  aci:l  and  other  gases. 


68  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  12.  Properly  regulated,  however,  the  fermentation  of  dung  is 
not  attended  with  any  great  loss  of  nitrogen,  nor  of  saline  mineral 
matters. 

"  13.  During  the  fermentation  of  dung,  ulmic,  humic,  and  other 
organic  acids  are  formed,  as  well  as  gypsum,  which  flx  the  am- 
monia generated  in  the  decomposition  of  the  uitrugcnized  con- 
stituents of  dung. 

"  14.  During  the  fermentation  of  dung,  the  phosphate  of  lime 
"which  it  contains  is  rendered  more  soluble  than  in  fresh  manure. 

"  15.  In  the  interior  an.l  heated  portions  of  manure-heaps,  am- 
monia is  given  off;  but,  on  passing  into  the  external  and  cold  lay- 
ers of  dung-heaps,  the  free  ammonia  is  retained  in  the  heap. 

"  IG.  Ammonia  is  not  given  off  from  the  surface  of  well-com- 
pressed dung-heaps,  but  on  turning  manure-heaps,  it  is  wasted  in 
appreciable  quantities.  Dung-heaps,  for  this  reason,  sliould  not 
be  turned  more  frequently  than  absolutely  necessary. 

"  17.  No  advantage  appears  to  result  from  carrying  on  the  fer 
mentation  of  dung  too  far,  but  every  disadvantage. 

"  18.  Farm-yard  manure  becomes  deteriorated  in  value,  when 
kept  in  heaps  exposed  to  the  weather,  the  more  the  longer  it  is 
kept. 

"  19.  The  loss  in  manuring  matters,  which  is  incurred  in  keep- 
i;ig  manure-heaps  exposed  to  the  weather,  is  not  so  much  due  to 
the  volatilization  of  ammonia  as  to  the  removal  of  ammoniacal 
salts,  soluble  nitrogenized  organic  matters,  and  valuable  mineral 
matters,  by  the  rain  wliich  falls  in  the  period  during  which  the 
manure  is  kept. 

"20.  If  ram  is  excluded  from  dung-heaps,  or  little  rain  falls  at 
a  time,  the  loss  in  ammonia  is  trifling,  and  no  saline  matters,  of 
course,  are  removed;  but,  if  nmch  rain  falls,  especially  if  it  de- 
scends in  heavy  showers  upon  tlie  dung-heap,  a  serious  loss  in 
ammonia,  sc)luble  organic  matter,  phosphate  of  lime,  and  salts  of 
potash  is  incurred,  and  the  manure  becomes  rapidly  deteriorated 
in  value,  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  is  diminished  in  weight. 

"  21.  Well-rotten  dung  is  more  readily  affected  by  the  deteriorat- 
ing influence  of  rain  tlian  fresh  manure. 

"  23.  Practically  speaking,  all  the  essentially  valuable  manuring 
constituents  are  preserved  by  keeping  farm-yard  manure  under 
cover. 

"23.  If  tlie  animals  have  been  supplied  with  plenty  of  litter, 
fresh  dung  contains  an  insufficient  (luantity  of  water  to  induce  an 
active  fermentation.     In  this  case,  fresh  dung  can  not  be  properly 


AN    ENGLISH    PLAN    OF   KEEPING    MANURE.  69 

fermented  under  cover,  except  water  or  liquid  manure  is  pumped 
over  the  heap  from  time  to  time. 

"  Wliere  much  straw  is  used  in  the  maiuifacture  of  dung,  and 
no  provision  is  made  to  supi)ly  the  nuinure  in  tlie  pit  at  any  time 
with  the  requisite  amount  of  moisture,  it  may  not  be  advisable  to 
put  up  a  roof  over  the  dung-pit.  On  the  other  liand,  on  farms 
where  there  is  a  de.ieiency  of  straw,  so  that  the  moisture  of  the 
excrements  of  our  domestic  animals  is  barely  absorbed  by  the  lit- 
ter, the  advantage  of  erecting  a  roof  over  the  dung-pit  will  be 
found  very  great. 

"  24.  The  worst  method  of  making  manure  is  to  produce  it  by 
animals  kept  in  open  j-ards,  since  a  large  proportion  of  valuable 
fertilizing  matters  is  wasted  in  a  short  time  ;  and  after  a  lapse  of 
twelve  months,  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  substance  of  the  manure 
is  wasted,  and  only  one-third,  inferior  in  quality  to  an  equal 
weight  of  fresh  dung,  is  left  beiiind. 

"25.  The  most  rational  i)lan  of  keeping  manure  in  heaps  ap- 
pears to  me  tiiat  adopted  In'  Mr.  Lawrence,  of  Cirencester,  and 
described  by  him  at  length  in  Morton's  '  Cyclopsedia  of  Agricul- 
ture,' under  the  head  of  '  Manure.'  " 


CHAPTER      XVI. 

AN    ENGLISH    PLAN    OF    KEEPING    MANURE. 

"  I  would  like  to  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  how  Mr.  Lawrence 
manages  his  manure,  especially  as  his  method  has  received  such 
high  commendation." 

Charley  got  the  second  volume  of  "Morton's  Cyclopsedia  of  Agri- 
culture," from  the  book  shelves,  and  turned  to  the  article  on 
"Manure."  He  found  that  Mr.  Lawrence  adopted  the  "Box 
System"  of  feeding  cattle,  and  used  cut  or  chaffed  straw  for  bedding. 
And  Mr.  Lawrence  claims  that  by  this  plan  "  manure  will  have 
been  mada  under  the  most  perfect  conditions."  And  "when  the 
boxes  are  full  at  those  periods  of  the  year  at  which  manure  is  re- 
quired for  the  sacceeiling  crojjs,  it  will  be  most  advantageously  dis 
pose  1  of  by  being  transferred  at  once  to  the  Ian  1,  and  covered  in." 

"  Good,  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  think  he  is  rig'it  there."  Charley 
continued,  and  read  as  follows  : 

"  But  there  will  be  accumulations  of  manure  requiring  removal 


70  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

from  the  homestead  at  other  seasons,  at  which  it  cannot  be  so  ap- 
plied, and  when  it  must  be  stored  for  future  use.  The  following 
has  been  found  an  effectual  and  economical  mode  of  accomplish- 
ing this ;  more  particularly  when  cut  litter  is  used,  it  saves  the  cost 
of  repeated  turnings,  and  etfectually  prevents  the  decomposition 
and  waste  of  the  most  active  and  volatile  principle. 

"  Some  three  or  more  spots  are  selected  according  to  the  size  of 
the  farm,  in  convenient  positions  for  access  to  the  land  under  Ull- 
age, and  by  the  side  of  the  farm  roads  The  sites  fixed  on  are 
then  excavated  about  two  feet  under  the  surrounding  surface.  In 
the  bottom  is  laid  some  three  or  four  inches  of  earth  to  absorb  any 
moisture,  on  which  the  manure  is  emptied  from  the  carts.  This  is 
evenly  spread,  and  well  trodden  as  the  heap  is  forming.  As  soon 
as  this  is  about  a  foot  above  the  ground  level,  to  allow  for  sinkmg, 
the  heap  is  gradually  gathered  in,  until  it  is  completed  in  the  form 
of  an  ordinary  steep  roof,  slightly  rounded  at  the  top  by  the  final 
treading.  In  the  course  of  building  this  up,  about  a  bushel  of  salt, 
to  two  cart-loads  of  dung  is  sprinkled  amongst  it.  The  base  laid 
out  at  any  one  time  should  not  exceed  that  required  by  the  manure 
ready  for  the  complete  formation  of  the  heap  as  far  as  it  goes ;  and 
within  a  daj'  or  two  after  such  portion  is  built  up,  and  it  has 
settled  into  shape,  a  thin  coat  of  earth  in  a  moist  state  is  plastered 
entirely  over  the  surface.  Under  these  conditions  decomposition 
does  not  take  place,  in  consequence  of  the  exclusion  of  the  air ;  or 
at  any  rate  to  so  limited  an  extent,  that  the  ammonia  is  absorbed 
by  the  earth,  for  there  is  not  a  trace  of  it  perceptible  about  the 
heap;  though,  when  put  together  without  such  covering,  this  is 
perceptible  enough  to  leeward  at  a  hundred  yards'  distance. 

"  When  heaps  thus  formed  are  resorted  to  in  the  autumn,  either 
for  the  young  seeds,  or  for  plowing  in  on  the  stubbles  after  prepar- 
ing for  the  succeeding  root  crop,  the  manure  will  be  found  un- 
diminished in  quantity  and  unimpaired  in  quality ;  in  fact,  simply 
consolidated.  Decomposition  then  proceeds  within  the  soil,  where 
all  its  results  are  appropriated,  and  rendered  available  for  the  suc- 
ceeding cereal  as  well  as  the  root  crop. 

"  It  would  be  inconvenient  to  plaster  the  heap,  were  the  ridge, 
when  settled,  above  six  or  seven  feet  from  the  ground  level ;  the 
base  may  be  formed  about  ten  to  twelve  feet  wide,  and  the  ridge 
about  nine  feet  from  the  base,  which  settles  down  to  about  seven 
feet;  this  may  be  extended  to  any  length  as  further  supplies  of 
manure  require  removal.  One  man  is  sufficient  to  form  the  heap, 
and  it  is  expedient  to  employ  the  same  man  for  this  service,  who 
soon  gets  into  the  way  of  performing  the  work  neatly  and  quickly. 


AN   ENGLISH    PLAN    OF   KEEPING    MANURE.  71 

It  has  been  asked  where  a  farmer  is  to  get  the  earth  to  cover  his 
heaps — it  may  be  answered,  keep  your  roads  scraped  when  they 
get  muddy  on  the  surface  during  raiuy  weather — in  itself  good 
economy — and  leave  this  in  small  heaps  beyond  the  margin  of 
your  roads.  This,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  will  be  found  an 
ample  provision  for  the  purpose,  for  it  is  unnecessary  to  laj'  on  a 
coat  more  than  one  or  two  inches  in  thickness,  which  should  be 
done  when  in  a  moist  state.  At  any  rate,  there  will  always  be 
found  an  accumulation  on  headlands  that  may  be  drawn  upon  if 
need  be. 

"  Farmers  who  have  not  been  in  the  habit  of  bestowing  care  ou 
the  manufacture  and  subsequent  preservation  of  their  manure,  and 
watching  results,  have  no  conception  of  the  importance  of  this. 
A  barrowful  of  such  manure  as  has  been  described,  would  pro- 
duce a  greater  weight  of  roots  and  corn,  than  that  so  graphically 
described  by  the  most  talented  and  accomplished  of  our  agricul- 
tural authors — as  the  contents  of  '  neighbour  Drj'chaffs  dung- 
cart,  that  creaking  hearse,  that  is  carrying  to  the  field  the  dead 
body  whose  spirit  has  departed.' 

"  There  is  a  source  of  valuable  and  extremely  useful  manure  on 
every  farm,  of  which  very  few  farmers  avail  themselves — the  gath- 
ering together  in  one  spot  of  all  combustible  waste  and  rubbish,  the 
clippings  of  hedges,  scouring  of  ditches,  grassy  accumulation  on 
the  sides  of  roads  and  fences,  etc.,  combined  with  a  good  deal  of 
earth.  If  these  are  carted  at  leisure  times  into  a  large  circle,  or  in 
two  rows,  to  supply  the  fire  kindled  in  the  center,  in  a  spot  which 
is  frequented  by  the  laborers  on  the  farm,  with  a  three-pronged 
fork  and  a  shovel  attendant,  and  each  passer-by  is  encouraged  to 
add  to  the  pile  whenever  he  sees  the  smoke  passing  away  so  freely 
as  to  indicate  rapid  combustion,  a  A:er\'  large  quantitj'  of  valuable 
ashes  are  collected  between  March  and  October.  In  the  latter 
month  the  fire  should  be  allowed  to  go  out ;  the  ashes  are  then 
thrown  into  along  ridge,  as  high  as  tliey  will  stand,  and  thatched 
while  dry.  This  will  be  found  an  invaluable  st!>re  in  April,  May, 
and  June,  capable  of  supplying  from  twenty  to  forty  bushels  of 
ashes  per  acre,  according  to  the  care  and  industry  of  the  collector, 
to  drill  with  the  .seeds  of  the  root  crop." 

The  Deacon  got  sleepy  before  Charley  finished  reading.  "  "We 
can  nut  afford  to  be  at  so  much  trouble  in  this  country,"  he  said, 
and  took  up  his  hat  and  left. 

The  Deacon  is  not  altogether  wrong.  Our  climate  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  England,  and  it  is  seldom  that  farmers  need 
to  draw  out  manure,  and  pile  it  in  the  field,  except  in  winter,  ami 


72  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

then  it  is  not  necessary,  I  tliink,  either  to  dig  a  pit  or  to  cover  the 
heap.  Those  who  draw  manure  from  the  city  in  summer,  may 
probably  adopt  some  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  suggestions  with  ad- 
vantage. 

The  plan  of  collecting  rubbish,  brush,  old  wood,  and  sods,  and 
converting  them  into  ashes  or  charcoal,  is  one  which  we  could 
often  adopt  with  decided  advantage.  Our  premises  would  be 
cleaner,  and  we  should  have  less  fungus  to  speck  and  crack  our 
apples  and  pears,  and,  in  addition,  we  should  have  a  quantity  of 
ashes  or  burnt  eartli,  that  is  not  only  a  manure  itself,  but  is  spe- 
cially useful  to  mix  with  moist  superphosphate  and  other  artificial 
manures,  to  make  them  dry  enough  and  bulky  enough  to  be  easily 
and  evenly  distributed  by  the  drill.  Artificial  manures,  so  mixed 
with  these  ashes,  or  dry,  charred  earth,  are  less  likely  to  injure  the 
seed  than  when  sown  with  the  seed  in  the  drill-rows,  unmixed 
with  some  such  material.  Sifted  coal  ashes  are  also  very  useful 
for  this  purpose. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

SOLUBLE    PHOSPHATES    IN    FARMYARD    MANURE. 

There  is  one  thing  in  these  experiments  of  Dr.  Voelcker's  which 
deserves  special  attention,  and  that  is  the  comparatively  large 
amount  of  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  in  the  ash  of  farm-yard  ma- 
nure. I  do  not  think  tlie  fact  is  generally  known.  In  estimating 
tiie  value  of  animal  manuies,  as  compared  with  artificial  manures,  it 
is  usually  assumed  that  the  phosphates  in  the  former  are  insoluble, 
and,  therefore,  of  less  value  than  the  soluble  phosphates  in  super- 
phosphate of  lime  and  other  artificial  manures. 

Dr.  Voelcker  found  in  the  ash  of  fnsh  farm-yard  manure,  phos- 
phoric acid  equal  to  13.23  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  of 
this  5.35  was  soluble  jihosphate  of  lime. 

In  the  ash  of  well-rotted  manure,  he  found  phosphoric  acid 
equal  to  13.11  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  of  this,  4.75  was 
soluble  phosphate  of  lime. 

"  That  is,  indeed,  an  important  fact,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  I 
tliought  Professor  Voelcker  clainie:!  that  '  during  the  fermentation 
of  dung,  the  phosphate  of  lime  which  it  contains  is  rendered  more 
soluble  than  in  fresh  manure.'" 


SOLUBLE   PHOSPHATES    IN    FARM-YAUD    MANURE. 


73 


"  He  did  say  so,"  1  irplit'd,  "  aud  it  may  be  true,  but  the  above 
figures  do  not  seem  to  prove  it.  Wlien  he  wrote  tlie  sentence  you 
have  quoted,  be  probably  bad  reference  to  the  fact  that  he  found 
more  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  in  rotted  manure  than  in  fresh 
manure.  Thus,  he  found  in  5  tons  of  fresh  and  5  tons  of  rotted 
manure,  the  following  ingredients : 


5  TONS, 
(10,000  LBS.) 


Fresh  manure.. 
Rotted  manure. 


29.!) 
38.~ 


:38.6 
57  3 


iSol.    Insol. 


68.5 
95.5 


57.3 
44.  ti 


9.9 

4.5 


'S 

IS 

'^ 

•S 

1 

1 

^ 

c 

■;^-§ 

■j*-^ 

b-, 

b^ 

l&t 

405 

147 

058 

5.59 
805 


"  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  figures  that  rotted  manure  con- 
tains more  soluble  pJiosphiie  of  lime  tJi  in  fresh  manure. 

"  But  it  does  not  follow  from  this  fact  that  any  of  the  insoluble 
phosphates  in  fresh  manure  have  been  rendered  soluble  during  the 
fermentation  of  the  manure. 

"  There  are  more  insoluble  phosphates  in  the  rotted  manure  than 
in  the  fresh,  but  we  do  not  conclude  from  this  fact  that  any  of 
the  phosphates  have  been  rendered  insoluble  during  the  process  of 
fermentation — neither  are  we  warranted  in  concluding  that  any  of 
them  have  been  rendered  soluble,  simply  because  we  find  more 
soluble  phosphates  in  the  rotted  manure." 

"  Very  true,'  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  it  has  been  shown  that  in 
tlie  heap  of  manure,  during  fermentation,  there  was  an  actual  in- 
crease of  soluble  mineral  matter  during  the  first  six  months,  and, 
to  say  the  least,  it  is  hi7:hly  probable  that  some  of  this  increase  of 
soluble  mineral  matter  contui  led  more  or  less  soluble  phosphates, 
and  perhaps  Dr.  Voelcker  had  some  facts  to  show  that  such  was 
the  case,  although  he  may  not  have  published  them.  At  any 
rate,  he  evidently  thinks  that  the  phosphates  in  manure  are  ren- 
dered more  soluble  by  fermentation." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  I,  "  we  can  not  do  better  than  to  let  the  matter 
rest  in  that  form.  I  am  merely  anxious  not  to  draw  definite  con- 
clusions from  the  facts  which  the  facts  do  not  positively  prove.  I 
am  strongly  in  favor  of  fermenting  manure,  and  should  be  glad  to 
have  it  shown  that  fermentation  does  actually  convert  insoluble 
phosphates  into  a  soluble  form." 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  thit  these  experiments  clearly 
prove,  and  that  is,  that  there  is  a  far  larger  quantity  of  soluble 


74  TALKS    ON   MANURBS. 

phosphates  in  mauure  than  is  generally  supposed.  Of  the  total 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  fresh  manure,  43  per  cent  is  in  a  soluble 
condition  ;  and  in  the  rotted  manure,  40  per  cent  is  soluble. 

This  is  an  important  fact,  and  one  which  is  generally  over- 
looked. It  enhances  the  value  of  farm-yard  or  stable  manure,  as 
compared  with  artificial  manures.  But  of  this  we  may  have  more 
to  say  when  we  come  to  that  part  of  the  subject.  I  want  to  make 
one  remark.  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  proportion 
of  solul)le  phosphates  is  greater  in  rich  manure,  made  from  grain- 
fed  animals,  than  in  poor  manure  made  principally  from  straw. 
In  other  words,  of  100  lbs.  of  total  phosphoric  acid,  more  of  it 
would  be  in  a  soluble  condition  in  the  rich  than  in  the  poor  ma- 
nure. 


CHAPTER    XYIII. 
HOW    THE    DEACON    MAKES    MANURE. 

"  I  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  are  talking  too  much  about 
the  science  of  manure  making.  Science  is  all  well  enough,  but 
practice  is  better." 

"  That  depends,"  said  I,  "on  the  practice.  Suppose  you  tell 
us  how  you  manage  your  manure." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  do  not  know  much  about  plant- 
food,  and  nitrogen,  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  I  think  manure  is  a 
good  thing,  and  the  more  you  have  of  it  the  better.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  your  practice  of  spreading  manure  on  the  land  and  letting 
it  lie  exposed  to  the  sun  and  winds.  I  want  to  draw  it  out  in  the 
spring  and  plow  it  under  for  corn.  I  think  this  long,  coarse 
manure  loosens  the  soil  and  makes  it  light,  and  warm,  and  porous. 
And  then  my  plan  saves  labor.  More  than  half  of  my  manuie  is 
handled  but  once.  It  is  made  in  tlie  yard  and  sheds,  and  lies  there 
until  it  is  drawn  to  the  field  in  the  spring.  The  manure  from  the 
cow  and  horse  stables,  and  from  the  pig-pens,  is  thrown  into  the 
yard,  and  nothing  is  done  to  it  except  to  level  it  down  occasionally. 
In  proportion  to  the  stock  kept,  I  think  I  make  twice  as  much 
manure  as  you  do." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  twice  as  much  in  bulk,  but  one  load  of  my 
manure  is  worth  four  loads  of  your  long,  coarse  manure,  composed 


HOW   THE    DEACON   MAKES    MANURE.  75 

principally  of  corn-stalks,  straw,  and  water.  1  think  you  are  wise 
in  not  spending  much  time  in  piling  and  working  over  such 
manure." 

The  Deacon  and  I  have  a  standing  quarrel  about  manure.  We 
differ  on  all  points.  He  is  a  good  man,  but  not  what  we  call  a  good 
farmer.  He  cleared  up  his  farm  from  the  original  forest,  and  he 
has  always  been  content  to  receive  what  his  land  would  give  him. 
£f  he  gets  good  crops,  well,  if  not,  his  expenses  are  moderate,  and 
he  manages  to  make  both  ends  meet.  I  tell  him  he  could  double 
his  crops,  and  quadruple  his  profits,  by  better  farming — but  though 
he  cannot  disprove  the  facts,  he  is  unwilling  to  make  any  change 
in  his  system  of  farming.  And  so  he  continues  to  make  just  as 
much  manure  as  the  crops  he  is  obliged  to  feed  out  leave  in  his 
yards,  and  no  more.  He  does  not,  in  fact,  make  any  manure.  He 
takes  what  comes,  and  gets  it  on  to  his  land  with  as  little  labor  a.s 
possible. 

It  is  no  use  arguing  with  such  a  man.  And  it  certainly  will  not 
do  to  contend  that  his  method  of  managing  manure  is  all  wrong. 
His  error  is  in  making  such  poor  maimre.  But  with  such  poor 
stuflF  as  he  has  in  his  yard,  1  believe  he  is  right  to  get  rid  of  it  with 
the  least  expense  possible. 

I  presume,  too,  that  the  Deacon  is  not  altogether  wrong  in  regard 
to  the  good  mechanical  effects  of  manure  on  undrained  and  indif- 
ferently cultivated  land.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  bases  his  opinion 
on  experience.  The  good  effects  of  such  manure  as  he  makes 
must  be  largely  due  to  its  mechanical  action — it  can  do  little 
towards  supplying  the  more  important  and  valuable  elements  of 
plant-food. 

I  commend  the  Deacon's  system  of  managing  manure  to  all  such 
as  make  a  similar  article.  But  I  think  there  is  a  more  excellent 
way.  Feed  the  stock  better,  make  richer  manure,  and  then  it  will 
pay  to  bestow  a  little  labor  in  taking  care  of  it. 


76  TALKS    OS    MANUKES. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
HOW    JOHN    JOHNSTON     MANAGES     HIS     MANURR 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  successful  farmers,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  is  John  Johnston,  of  Geneva.  He  has  a  farm  on  the 
borders  of  Seneca  Lake.  It  is  high,  rolling  laud,  but  needed  under 
draining.  This  has  been  thoroughly  done — and  done  with  great 
profit  and  advantage.  The  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam.  Mr.  John- 
ston has  been  in  the  habit  of  summer-fallowing  largely  for  wheat, 
generally  plowing  three,  and  sometimes  four  times.  He  has  been 
a  very  successful  wheat-grower,  almost  invariably  obtaining  large 
crops  of  wheat,  both  of  grain  and  straw.  The  straw  he  feeds  to 
sheep  in  winter,  putting  more  straw  in  the  racks  than  the  sheep 
can  eat  up  clean,  and  using  what  they  leave  for  bedding.  The 
sheep  run  in  yards  enclosed  with  tight  board  fences,  and  have 
sheds  under  the  barn  to  lie  in  at  pleasure. 

Although  the  soil  is  rather  heavy  for  Indian  corn,  Mr.  Johnston 
succeeds  iu  growing  largo  crops  of  this  great  American  cereal. 
Com  and  stalks  are  both  fed  out  on  the  farm.  Mr.  J.  has  not  yet 
practised  cutting  up  his  straw  ard  stalks  into  chaff. 

The  land  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  red  clover,  and 
great  crops  of  clover  and  timothy-hay  are  raised,  and  fed  out  on 
the  farm.  Gypsum,  or  plaster,  is  sown  quite  freely  on  the  clover 
la  the  sjiring.  Comparatively  few  roots  are  raised — not  to  exceed 
an  acre — and  these  only  quite  recently.  The  main  crops  are  winter 
wheat,  spring  barley,  Indian  corn,  clover,  and  timothy-hay,  and 
clover-seed, 

Tlie  materials  for  making  manure,  then,  are  wheat  and  barley 
straw,  Indian  corn,  corn-stalks,  clover,  and  timothy-hay.  These 
are  all  raised  on  the  farm.  But  Mr.  Johnston  has  for  many  years 
purchased  linsecd-ci]  cake,  to  feed  to  his  sheep  and  cattle. 

Tliis  last  fact  must  not  be  overlooked.  Mr.  J.  commenced  to 
feed  oil-cake  when  its  value  was  little  known  here,  and  when  he 
bought  it  for,  I  think,  seven  or  eight  dollars  a  ton.  He  continued 
to  use  it  even  when  he  had  to  pay  fifty  dollars  per  ton  Mr.  J. 
has  great  faith  in  manure — and  it  U  a  faith  resting  on  good  evidence 
and  long  experience.  If  he  had  not  fed  out  so  much  oil-cake  and 
clover-hay,  he  would  not  have  found  his  manure  so  valuable. 

"  How  much  oil-cake  does  he  use  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

"  He  gives  his  sheep,  on  the  average,  about  1  lb.  each  per  day." 


fiOW   JOHN   .lOtlNSTON    MAXAGES    HIS   MANUUK.  77 

If  he  feeds  out  a  ton  of  elover-hay,  two  tons  of  straw,  (for  feed  and 
beddin<f,)  and  one  ton  of  oil-cake,  the  manure  obtained  from  this 
quantity  of  food  and  litter,  would  be  worth,  according  to  Mr. 
Lawes'  table,  given  on  page  45,  $34.72. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  he  fed  out  one  ton  of  corn,  one  ton  of 
clover-hay,  and  two  tons  of  straw,  for  feed  and  bedding,  the  manure 
would  be  worth  $21.05. 

If  he  fed  one  ton  of  corn,  and  three  tons  of  straw,  the  manure 
would  be  worth  only  $14.69. 

He  would  get  as  much  manure  from  the  three  tons  of  straw  and 
one  ton  of  corn,  as  from  the  two  tons  of  straw,  one  ton  of  clover- 
hay,  and  one  ton  of  oil-cake,  while,  as  before  said,  the  manure  in 
the  one  case  would  be  worth  $14.69,  and  in  the  other  $34.72. 

In  other  words,  a  load  of  the  good  manure  would  be  worth,  when 
spread  out  on  the  land  in  the  field  or  garden,  more  than  two  loads 
of  the  straw  and  corn  manure. 

To  get  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash,  you  have  to  spend  more  than  twice  the  labor  in  cleaning 
out  the  stables  or  yards,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  throwing 
or  wheeling  it  to  the  manure  pile,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
turning  the  manure  in  the  pile,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
loading  it  on  the  carts  or  wagons,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of 
drawing  it  to  the  field,  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  unloading  it 
into  heaps,  and  more  than  twice  the  labor  of  spreading  it  in  the 
one  case  than  in  the  other,  and,  after  all,  twenty  tons  of  this  poor 
manure  would  not  produce  as  good  an  efi"ect  the  first  season  as  ten 
tons  of  the  richer  manure. 

"  Why  so  "  ?  asked  the  Deacon. 

"  Simply  because  the  poor  manure  is  not  so  active  as  the  richer 
manure.  It  will  not  decompose  so  readily.  Its  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  are  not  so  available.  The  twenty  tons, 
may,  in  the  long  '•un,  do  as  much  good  as  the  ten  tons,  but  I  very 
much  doubt  it.  At  any  rate,  I  would  greatly  prefer  the  ten  tons 
of  the  good  manure  to  twenty  tons  of  the  poor— even  when  spread 
out  on  the  land,  ready  to  plow  under.  What  the  difference  would 
be  in  the  value  of  the  manure  in  the  yard,  you  can  figure  for  your- 
self. It  would  depend  on  the  cost  of  handling,  drawing,  and 
spreading  the  extra  ten  tons." 

The  Deacon  estimates  the  cost  of  loading,  drawing,  unloading, 
and  spreading,  at  fifty  cents  a  ton.  This  is  probably  not  far  out  of 
the  way,  though  much  depends  on  the  distance  the  manure  has  to 
be  drawn,  and  also  on  the  condition  of  the  manure,  etc. 


78  TA.LKS    OK   MANTTRES. 

The  four  tons  of  feed  and  bedding  will  make,  at  a  rough  estimate 
about  ten  tons  of  manure. 

This  ten  tons  of  straw  and  corn  manure,  according  to  Mr.  Lawes' 
estimate,  is  worth,  in  the  field.  $14.69  And  if  it  costs  fifty  cents  a 
load  to  gtt  it  on  the  land  its  value,  i%  the  yard,  would  be  $9.69 — 
or  nearly  ninety-seven  cents  a  ton. 

The  ten  tons  of  good  manure,  according  to  the  same  estimate,  is 
worth,  in  Vie  field,  $34.72,  and,  C(;nsequently,  would  be  worth,  in 
the  ynrd,  $29.72.  In  other  words,  a  ton  of  poor  manure  is  worth, 
in  the  yard,  ninety-seven  cents  a  ton,  and  the  good  manure  $2  97. 

And  so  in  describing   John    Johnston's  method  of  managing 
manure,  this  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind.      It  might  not  pay  the 
Deacon  to  spend  much  labor  on  manure  worth  only  ninety  seven 
cents  a  ton,  while  it  might  pa}'  John  Johnston  to  bestow  some  con- 
siderable time  and  labor  on  manure  worth  $2.97  per  ton. 
"  But  is  it  really  worth  this  sum  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 
"  In  reply  to  that,"  said  T,  "  all  I  claim  is  that  the  figures  are  com- 
parative.    If  your  manure,  made  as  above  described,  is   wortli 
nmety-seven  cents  a  ton  in  the  yard, //(^.-j  John  Johnston's  manure, 
made  as  stated,  is  certainly  wortli,  at   least,  $2.97  per  ton  in  the 
yard." 
Of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

"If  you  think,"  I  continued,  "  your  manure,  so  made,  is  worth 
only  half  as  much  as  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate ;  in  other  words,  if  your 
ten  tons  of  manure,  instead  of  being  worth  $14.69  in  the  field,  is 
worth  only  $7  35 ;  then  John  Johnston's  ten  tons  of  manure, 
instead  of  being  worth  $;34.72  in  the  field,  is  worth  only  $17.36." 

"  That  looks  a  little  more  reasonable, "  said  the  Deacon,  "John 
Johnston's  manure,  instead  of  being  worth  $2.97  per  ton  in  the  yard, 
is  worth  only  $1  48  per  ton,  and  mine,  instead  of  being  worth  ninety- 
seven  cents  a  ton,  is  worth  forty-eight  and  a  half  cents  a  ton." 

The  Deacon  sat  for  a  few  minutes  looking  at  these  figures. 
"  They  do  not  .seem  so  extravagantly  higli  as  I  thought  them  at 
first,"  he  said,  "  and  if  you  will  reduce  the  figures  in  Mr.  Lawes' 
table  one-half  all  through,  it  will  be  much  nearer  the  truth.  I 
think  my  manure  is  worth  forty-eight  and  a  half  cents  a  ton  in  the 
yard,  and  if  your  figures  are  correct,  I  suppose  I  must  admit  that 
John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  $1.48  per  ton  in  the  yard." 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  such  an  admission  from  the  Deacon.  He 
did  not  see  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  the  figures,  and  so  1  got 
him  to  go  over  the  calculation  again. 


HOW    TOHX    JOUNSTOX    MANAliKS    HIS    MANUliK.  70 

"You  take  :i  poncil,  Deacon,"   said   I,   "  aixl    -write   down  the 
fieures : 

Manure  from  a  ton  of  cileakc ?10.73 

Manure  from  a  ton  of  clover  liay 'J  (>1 

Manure  from  t  wo  tons  of  straw 5.3G 


m.~2 

*'  This  would  make  about  ten  tons  of  manure.  We  liave  aiTced 
to  reduce  tiic  estimate  onc-!ialf,  and  consequently  we  have  $17.36 
as  the  value  of  the  ten  tons  of  manure." 

"  This  is  John  Johnston's  manure.  It  is  worth  ^l.~']  jut  ton  in 
the  field. 

"  It  costs,  we  have  estimated,  50  cents  a  ton  to  handle  tlie  manure, 
and  conscqueutiy  it  is  worth  in  the  yard  $1.2:J  jier  t(jn." 

"  Tliis  is  less  than  we  mailc  it  before,"  said  tlie  Deacon. 

"  Never  mind  tiiat,"  said  I,  "  tlie  figures  are  correct.  Now  write 
down  what  your  manure  is  worth  : 

Manure  from  1  ton  of  corn -?6.65 

Manure,  from  3  tons  of  straw s.()4 


*14.Gy 


"  This  will  make  about  ton  tons  of  manure.  In  this  case,  as  in  the 
other,  we  are  to  reduce  the  estimate  one-half.  Consequently,  we 
have  $7.35  as  the  value  of  this  ten  tons  of  manure  in  the  field,  or 
73+  cents  a  ton.  It  costs,  we  have  estimated,  50  cents  a  ton  to 
handle  the  manure, and,  therefore,  it  is  worth  .'n  the i/a id, 23^ cents 
a  ton." 

"  John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  in  t'.ie  yard,  $1.23  per  ton. 
The  Deacon's  manure  is  worth  in  the  j'ard,  23i  cents  per  ton." 

"  There  is  some  mistake,"  exclaimed  the  Deacon,  "  you  said,  at 
first,  that  one  load  of  John  Johnston's  manure  was  worth  as  much 
as  two  of  my  loads.  Now  you  make  one  load  of  his  manure  worth 
more  than  five  loads  of  my  manure.     This  is  absurd." 

"  Not  at  all.  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  you  made  the  figures  yourself. 
You  thought  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  too  high.  You  reduced  it  one- 
haif.  The  figures  are  correct,  and  you  must  accept  the  conclusion. 
If  John  Johnston's  manure  is  only  worth  $1.23  per  ton  in  the  yard, 
yours,  made  from  1  ton  of  corn  and  3  tons  of  straw,  is  only 
worth  234  cents  per  ton." 

"  And  now.  Deacon,"  I  continued,  "  while  you  have  a  pencil  in 
your  hand,  I  want  you  to  make  one  more  calculation.  Assuming 
tliat  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  is  too  hi^h,  and  we  reduce  it  one-half. 


80  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

figure  up  what  manure  is  worth  when  made  from  straw  aloue. 
T  oa  take  4  tons  of  wheat  straw,  feed  out  part,  and  use  part  for 
bedding.  It  will  give  you  about  10  tons  of  manure.  And  this  10 
tons  cost  you  50  cents  a  ton  to  load,  draw  out,  and  spread.  Now 
figure : 

"  Four  tons  of  straw  is  worth,  for  manure,  according  to  Mr. 
Lawcs'  table,  $2.68  per  ton.  "We  have  agreed  to  reduce  the  figures 
one  half,  and  so  the 

10  tons  of  manure  from  the  4  tons  of  straw  is  worth.  ..?.5.36 
DrawJDg  out  10  tons  of  manure  at  50  cents 5.00 


Value  of  10  tons  of  straw -manure  hi  yard $0.36 

"  In  other  w'ords,  if  John  Johnston's  manure  is  worth  only  $1.23 
per  ton  in  the  yard,  the  straw-made  manure  is  worth  only  a  little 
over  3fr  cents  a  ton  in  the  yard." 

"  That  is  too  absurd,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  Very  well,"  I  replied,  "  for  once  I  am  glad  to  agree  with  3'ou. 
But  if  this  is  absurd,  then  it  follows  tliat  Mr.  Lawcs'  estimate  of 
the  value  of  certain  foods  for  manure  is  not  so  extravagant  as  you 
supposed — which  is  precisely  Avhat  I  wished  to  prove." 


"  You  have  not  told  us  how  Mr.  Johnston  manages  his  manure," 
said  the  Deacon. 

"  There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  about  it,"  I  replied.  "  There 
are  many  farmers  in  this  neighborhood  who  adopt  the  same 
method.  I  think,  however,  John  Johnston  was  the  first  to  recom- 
mend it,  and  subjected  himself  to  some  criticism  from  some  of  the 
so-called  scientific  writers  at  the  time. 

"  Ilis  general  plan  is  to  leave  the  manure  in  the  yards,  basements, 
and  she.is,  under  the  sheep,  until  spring.  He  usually  sells  his  fat 
sheep  in  March.  As  soon  as  the  sheep  are  removed,  the  manure  is 
either  thrown  up  into  loose  heaps  in  the  yard,  or  drawn  directly 
to  the  field,  where  it  is  to  be  used,  and  made  into  a  heap  there. 
The  manure  is  not  spread  on  the  laud  until  the  autumn.  It  re- 
mains in  the  heaps  or  piles  all  summer,  being  usually  turned  once, 
and  sometimes  twice.     The  manure  becomes  thoroughly  rotted." 


Mr.  Johnston,  like  the  Deacon,  applies  his  manure  to  the  corn 
crop.  But  the  Deacon  draws  out  his  fresh  green  manure  in  the 
spring,  on  sod-l:uid,  and  plows  it  under.  Mr.  Johnston,  on  the 
Other  hand,  keeps  his  manure  in  a  heap  through  the  summer, 


HOW    JOHN   JOHXSTON    MAXAGES    HIS    MANLllE.  81 

spreads  it  on  the  sod  in  September,  or  the  first  week  in  October. 
Here  it  lies  until  next  spring.  The  grass  and  clover  grow  up 
through  manure,  and  the  grass  and  manure  are  turned  under  next 
spring,  and  the  land  planted  to  corn. 

Mr.  Johnston  is  thorough!}-  convinced  that  he  gets  far  more 
benefit  from  the  manure  when  applied  on  the  surface,  and  left  ex- 
posed lor  several  months,  than  if  he  plowed  it  under  at  once. 


I  like  to  write  and  talk  about  John  Johnston.  I  lilie  to  visit 
him.  He  is  so  delightfully  enthusiastic,  believes  so  thoroughly  in 
good  farming,  and  has  been  so  eminently  successful,  that  a  day 
spent  in  his  company  can  not  fail  to  encourage  any  farmer  to  re- 
newed efforts  in  improving  his  soil.  "  You  must  drain,"  he  wrote 
to  me;  "when  I  first  commenced  farming,  I  never  made  any 
money  until  I  began  to  underdrain."  But  it  is  not  underdraining 
alone  that  is  the  cause  of  his  eminent  success.  When  he  bought 
his  farm,  "  near  Geneva,"  over  fifty  years  ago,  there  was  a  pile  of 
manure  in  the  yard  that  had  lain  there  year  after  j'ear,  until  it  was, 
as  he  said,  "  as  black  as  \\\y  hat."  The  former  owner  regarded  it 
as  a  nuisance,  and  a  few  months  before  young  Johnston  bought 
the  farm,  had  given  some  darkies  a  cow  on  condition  that  they 
would  draw  out  this  manure.  They  drew  out  six  loads,  took  the 
cow — and  that  was  the  last  seen  of  them.  Johnston  drew  out  this 
manure,  raised  a  good  crop  of  wheat,  and  that  gave  him  a  start. 
He  says  he  has  been  asked  a  great  man}-  times  to  what  he  owes  his 
success  as  a  farmer,  and  he  has  replied  that  he  could  not  tell 
whether  it  was  "dung  or  credit."  It  was  probably  neither.  It 
was  the  man — his  intelligence,  industry',  and  good  common  sense. 
That  heap  of  black  mould  was  merely  an  instrument  in  his  hands 
that  he  could  turn  to  good  account. 

His  first  crop  of  wheat  gave  him  "  credit''  and  this  also  he  used 
to  advantage.  He  believed  that  good  farming  would  pay,  and  it 
was  this  faith  in  a  generous  soil  that  made  him  willing  to  spend 
the  money  obtained  from  the  first  crop  of  wheat  in  enriching  the 
land,  and  to  avail  himself  of  his  credit.  Had  he  lacked  this  faith — 
had  he  hoarded  every  sixpence  he  could  have  ground  out  of  the 
soil,  who  would  have  ever  heard  of  John  Johnston  ?  He  has 
been  liberal  with  his  crops  and  his  animals,  and  has  ever  found 
them  grateful.     This  is  the  real  lesson  which  his  life  teaches. 

He  once  wrote  me  he  had  something  to  show  me.  He  did  not 
tell  me  w]iat  it  was,  and  when  I  got  there,  he  took  me  to  a  field  of 
grass  that  was  to  be  mown  for  hay.  The  field  had  been  in  winter 
wheat  the  year  before.     At  the  time  of  sowing  the  wheat,  the 


82  TALKS    ON    MAMUKS. 

whole  field  was  seeded  dowa  with  liuiolhy.  No  clover  was  sowu 
either  then  or  iu  tiie  spring  ;  but  after  the  wheat  was  sowu,  he  put 
oil  a  slight  ilressiug  of  manure  on  two  portions  of  the  field  that 
he  thought  were  poor,  lie  told  the  man  to  spread  it  i-ut  of  the 
wagon  just  as  ihin  as  he  could  dij^lribute  it  evenly  over  the  laud. 
It  was  a  very  light  nianuring,  i)ut  t!ie  manure  was  rich,  and  thor- 
oughly rfitted.  1  do  not  recollect  whether  the  etl'cet  of  the  manure 
w  as  particularly  noticed  on  the  wheat ;  but  on  the  grass,  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  the  effect  was  sufficiently  striking.  Those  two  por- 
tions of  tlie  field  where  the  manure  was  spread  were  Cfrcercd  tei'th 
(I  spkmlid  crop  of  red  clover.  You  could  sec  the  exact  line,  in  bt)th 
cases,  where  the  manure  reached.  It  looked  quite  curious.  No 
clover-seed  was  sown,  and  yet  there  Wiis  as  fine  a  crop  of  clover 
as  one  could  desire. 

On  lookin;^  into  tlie  matter  more  closely,  we  found  tliat  there 
was  more  or  less  clover  all  over  the  field,  but  where  the  mnnurc 
was  not  used,  it  could  hardly  be  seen.  The  jilants  were  small, 
ami  the  timothy  bid  them  from  view.  But  where  the  manure 
was  used,  these  plants  of  clover  had  been  stimulated  in  their 
growth  until  they  covered  the  ground.  The  leaves  were  broad 
and  vigorous,  while  in  the  other  case  they  were  small,  and  almo;-t 
dried  up.  This  is  prol)ably  tlie  right  cxplanatiim.  Tlie  manure 
did  not  "bring  in  the  clover;"  it  simi)ly  increased  llie  growth  of 
that  already  in  l!ie  soil.     It  shows  the  value  of  manure  for  gras.s. 

This  is  what  Mr.  Johnstcm  wanted  to  show  me.  "I  might  have 
written  and  told  you,  but  you  would  not  have  got  n.  clear  idea  of 
the  matter."  This  is  true.  One  had  to  sec  the  great  lu.xunance  of 
that  piece*  of  clover  to  fullv  appreciate  the  effect  of  the  manure. 
Mr.  J.  said  the  manure  on  that  gra.ss  was  worth  |i:?0  an  acre* — that 
is,  on  the  three  cro|>s  of  grass,  before  the  field  is  ag:iin  plowed.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  this  is  true,  and  that  the  future  crops  on  the 
land  will  also  be  benefited — not  directly  from  the  manure,  p<  r- 
haps,  but  from  the  clover-roots  i-i  the  soil.  And  if  the  field  were 
oasturcJ,  the  effect  ou  future  crops  would  be  very  decided. 


31Y    UW.N    I'l^N    <JK    MANA«JIN«;    MANUKK.  83 

C  ][  A  r  T  K  K      X  X. 
MY    OWX    PLAN    OF    MANAGING    MANURE. 

One  of  llic  charms  and  the  advanlages  of  agriculture  is  that  a 
farmer  must  ibiiik  fur  himself.  He  should  studj  princij)Ies,  and 
apply  them  in  i>r.icliee,  as  best  suits  his  circumstances. 

.My  own  metliolof  uianai.'ing  nianun-  jiives  nie  many  of  tlie 
advantages  claimed  for  tlie  Deacon's  method,  and  Jolin  Johnston's, 
also. 

"  I  do  nut  understand  wliat  you  mean,"  said  the  Deacon;  "my 
metliod  differs  essentially  from  that  of  John  Johnston." 

"  True,"  I  replied,  "  you  use  your  winter-made  manure  in  the 
spring;  while  Mr.  Johnston  piles  his,  and  gets  it  thon)Ughly  fer- 
mented ;  hut  to  do  this,  he  has  to  keep  it  until  the  autunm,  and  it 
does  not  benefit  his  corn-crop  before  the  ne.\t  summer,  lie  loses 
the  u.se  of  his  manure  for  a  year." 

I  think  my  nutliod  secures  both  these  advantages.  I  get  my 
winter-made  manure  fermented  ami  in  goiul  condition,  and  yet 
have  it  ready  for  spring  crops. 

In  tlie  first  place,  I  should  remark  tliat  my  usual  plan  is  to  cut 
up  all  the  fodder  for  horses,  cows,  and  sheep.  F<jr  horses,  I  some- 
times use  long  straw  for  bedding,  but,  as  a  nde,  I  prefer  to  run 
everything  through  a  feed-cutter.  "We  do  not  steam  the  food,  and 
■we  let  the  cows  and  sheep  have  a  liberal  supply  of  cut  corn-stalks 
and  straw,  and  what  they  do  not  eat  is  thrown  out  of  the  mangers 
and  racks,  and  u.sed  for  bedding. 

I  shonld  state,  too,  tliat  I  keep  a  good  many  pigs,  seldom  having 
less  than  50  breeding  sow.s.  My  pigs  are  mo.stly  sold  at  from  two 
to  four  months  old,  but  we  probably  average  150  head  the  j'car 
round.  A  good  deal  of  my  manure,  therefore,  comes  from  the 
pig-pens,  and  from  two  basement  cellars,  where  my  store  hogs 
Bleep  in  winter. 

In  addition  to  the  pigs,  we  have  on  the  farm  from  150  to  200 
Cotswold  and  grade  sheep ;  10  cows,  and  8  horses.  These  are  our 
manure  makers. 

The  raw  material  from  which  the  manure  is  manufactured  con- 
sists of  wheat,  barley,  rye,  and  oat-straw,  corn-stalks,  corn-fodder, 
clover  and  timotliy-liay,  clover  seed-hay,  bean-straw,  pea-straw, 
potato-tojis,  mauLTel-wurzel,  turnips,  rape,  and  mu.stard.  These 
are  all  raised  on  the  farm  ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  home-grown 
oats,  peas,  and  corn,  we  buy  and  feed  out  considerable  quantities 


84  TALKS    ON     MAM   KKS. 

of  bnin,  shorts,  finc-miiUUings,  iniilt-coinbs,  corn-nu:il,  ami  a  little 
oil-cake.  1  sell  wlirat,  rye,  barley,  and  (■luver-s«'e(i,  apples,  and 
potatoes,  ami  soinetinies  cal)b.iges  ami  turnips.  Probatily,  on  tbc 
avera:;*',  for  each  !|U)0  I  reeeive  from  the  sale  of  these  croj*,  1 
purchase  $2.3  worlii  of  bran,  inail-<<)nib.s,  t-orn-nual,  ami  otiier 
feed  for  animals.  My  farm  is  now  rapidly  iuereusing  in  fertility 
aiid  productiveness.  The  crops,  on  tlie  avcraqre,  are  certainly  at 
least  double  what  they  were  when  I  l»ou:;ht  the  farm  thirUen 
years  ai^o;  and  much  uf  this  increase  has  l.-iken  place  durini;  tlic 
last  Jive  or  six  years,  and  I  exiM-ct  to  see  still  gn-ater  improvement 
year  l^y  year. 

"Never  mind  all  lliat,"  said  tlie  Deacon;  "wo  all  know  that 
manure  will  enricli  land,  ami  I  will  ronctnle  tliat  your  farm  li.ia 
j^reatly  improved,  ami  can  not  Iielp  but  impnne  if  you  continue 
to  make  and  use  as  muili  manure." 

"  I  expect  to  make  n»orc  and  more  manure  every  year,"  j^aid  I. 
"The  larjjjer  tlie  crops,  tlie  more  manure  we  caii  make;  and  the 
more  manure  we  make,  the  larger  the  cro|>s." 


Tlie  real  jmint  of  difference  In'tween  my  plan  of  managing  ma- 
nure, and  (lie  jtian  adopinlby  tlie  Deacon,  Ls  es.s«*ntially  this :  I 
aim  to  keep  all  my  manun-  in  a  compa«-t  pile,  when*  it  w  ill  slowly 
ferment  all  winter.  The  Deacon  throws  hLs  horse-manun-  into  a 
heap,  just  outside  the  stable  door,  and  l!ic  cow-maiiure  into  an- 
other heap,  and  the  pig-manure  into  another  heap.  These  heaps 
are  more  or  less  scattered,  and  arc  exposed  to  the  niin,  and  snow, 
and  frost,  Tiie  horse-manure  Ls  quite  likely  to  fenn'-nt  Unt  nip- 
iJly,  and  if  in  a  large  heap,  and  the  weather  lA  warm,  it  not 
unlikely  ''fire-fangs"  in  t!ic  center  of  t!ie  hcrip.  0:i  the  other 
hand,  the  cow-manure  lies  cold  and  dead,  an  1  during  the  winter 
freezes  into  soli  1  lumps. 

I  wheel  or  cart  all  my  maniire  into  one  central  heap  The  main 
object  is  to  ke  -p  it  as  compact  as  possible.  There  are  two  a<lva:i- 
tages  in  this:  1st,  tiie  manure  is  less  exposed  t)  tlie  rain,  and 
(3d),  when  freezing  weather  sets  in,  only  a  few  inches  of  the  ex- 
ternal portion  of  the  heap  is  frozen.  I  have  pr  ictiscd  this  plan 
for  several  years,  and  can  keep  my  he;ij)  of  manure  slowly  fer- 
menting during  t'lc  whole  winter. 

But  in  order  to  ensure  this  result,  it  is  n  cess-irv  to  begin  iiiak« 
ing  the  heap  before  winter  sets  in.     The  plan  is  this : 

Having  selected  the  spot  in  tlie  yard  most  convenient  for  m.ak 
ing  the  lic.ip,  collect  all  the  manure  that  can  be  f  jund  in  the  sheep- 


MV    OWS    I'l   \N    <»K    MVN\..IN<.     M  \  N I   I:  I  s,', 

yanls,  shc<ls,  row  aiiil  liorw  stables,  pi;;-lK'us,  and  Ihh-Iiousc,  t<>- 
pt'tluT  witli  Icavi-s,  wfftls,  HOtl  ri'fus*'  from  tin-  carilrn,  and  wIumI 
or  cart  it  to  llu'  inti-iidi-d  hrap.  If  you  sit  a  farm  man  to  do  the 
work,  loll  him  you  want  to  m»kc  a  hot-l»od  about  five  f*ft  hijjh,  six 
fwi  widf,  and  six  fcrt  lonji.  I  do  not  tliink  1  have  over  srcn  a 
fann  wlicrc  cnouph  matrrial  could  not  be  found,  say  in  November, 
to  make  such  a  heap.  And  this  ix  ail  that  is  needed.  If  tlic  ma- 
nure i.H  rich,  if  it  is  oblaineU  from  animals  eating  clover-hav.  bran, 
frrain.  or  other  frnwl  rich  in  iiitrotren,  it  will  soon  fernient.  Hut  if 
the  manure  is  jKHir,  coosistiui,'  larL'ely  «tf  .straw,  it  will  be  very  de- 
sirable t<»  make  it  ri'  her  by  iiii\inj»  with  it  bone-du'«t.  blood,  hon- 
droppin;.'?,  woollen  rai.'B,  i  hainber  lye,  and  animal  inallirof  any 
kind  that  you  can  tind. 

The  richer  you  ran  make  the  manure,  the  more  rrudilv  will  it 
ferment.  A  po«k1  plan  is  t«»  lake  the  honw  or  sheep  manure,  a 
few  wc«ks  previous,  and  use  it  for  Ix-ddinn  the  pi;:s.  !t  will 
altfMirb  thi-  liquid  of  the  plus,  and  make  rich  manure,  whii  h  will 
8o<m  ferment  when  phurd  in  a  heap. 

If  the  manure  in  the  heap  is  t«M>  dry,  it  i.s  n  l'Oo<1  plan,  when  v<<u 
are  killinj:  hoi:s.  to  throw  on  to  the  nianiin-  all  the  warm  water, 
hair,  bloinl,  intestines,  etc.  You  may  think  I  am  making  loo 
much  of  such  a  simpl-  matter,  but  I  have  had  biters  from  farmers 
who  have  tried  this  plan  of  manairinp  manun-,  and  they  say  that 
they  cjin  not  keep  it  from  free/.inp.  One  reason  for  this  Is,  that 
they  do  not  sunrl  the  heip  early  enough,  and  do  n«»t  take  pains  to 
get  the  manure  into  an  active  fernu  ntation  Infore  wiiiter  sets  in. 
Much  depends  on  this.  In  starlim:  a  fire,  you  take  pains  to  pot  a 
little  fine,  dry  woofl.  that  will  burn  readily,  and  when  the  fire  is 
fairly  poini.  put  <>n  lanrer  sticks,  and  presently  you  have  such  a 
fin-  that  you  can  burn  wood,  coal,  stubble,  sods,  or  anything  you 
wish.  And  so  it  is  with  a  manure-heap.  (Jet  the  fire,  or  fermen- 
t  ition,  or,  more  strictly  speaking,  putrefaction  fairly  started,  and 
there  will  lie  little  trouble,  if  the  heap  is  large  enough,  aud  fresh 
material  is  added  from  time  to  time,  of  continuing  the  fermenta- 
tion all  winter. 

Another  point  to  be  observed,  and  espci  ially  in  cold  weather,  is 
to  keep  the  sides  of  the  heap  straight,  and  the  Urp  knl.  You 
must  expose  the  manure  in  t!ie  heap  jis  little  as  possible  to  frost 
and  cold  winds.  The  rule  should  be  to  spread  ever}-  wlir-el-bar- 
rowful  of  manure  as  soon  as  it  is  put  on  the  heap.  If  left  un- 
spread  on  top  of  the  heap,  it  will  freeze;  and  if  afterwards  cov- 
ered witli  other  manure,  it  will  recjuire  considerable  heat  to  melt 
it,  and  thu'*  r  diicr  the  tcmi"  r  itur    of  the  whole  heap. 


86  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

It  is  far  less  work  to  manage  a  heap  of  manure  in  this  way  than 
may  be  supposed  from  my  description  of  tlie  ]>lan.  Tlie  truth  is, 
I  find,  in  point  of  fact,  lliut  it  is  nut  an  easy  thing  to  manage  ma- 
nure in  this  way ;  and  I  fear  not  one  farmer  in  ten  will  succeed 
the  first  winter  he  undertakes  it,  unless  he  gires  it  his  personal 
attention.  It  is  well  worth  trying,  however,  because  if  your  heap 
siiould  free/x'  up,  it  will  be,  at  any  rate,  in  no  worse  condition 
than  if  managed  in  the  ordinary  way;  and  if  you  do  succeed, 
even  in  part,  you  will  have  manure  in  good  condition  for  im- 
mediate use  in  the  spring. 


As  I  have  said  before,  I  keep  a  good  many  pigs.  Now  pigs,  if 
fed  on  slops,  void  a  large  quantity  of  li(|iiid  manure,  and  it  is  n(jt 
always  easy  to  furnish  straw  enough  to  al)sorb  it.  When  straw 
and  stalks  are  cut  into  cLafT,  they  will  absorb  much  more  licjuid 
tlian  when  used  whole.  For  this  reason  wc  usually  cut  idl  our 
straw  and  stalks.  We  also  use  the  litter  from  the  horse-stable  for 
bedding  tlie  store  hogs,  and  also  sometimes,  when  comparatively 
dry,  we  use  tiie  refuse  sheep  bedding  for  the  same  purpose. 
Where  tlie  sheep  barn  is  contiguous  to  the  pig-pens,  and  when  the 
sheep  l)edding  can  be  thrown  at  once  into  the  pig-pens  or  cellar, 
it  is  well  to  use  bedding  freely  for  the  shecji  and  lambs,  and  re- 
move it  frequently,  throwing  it  into  the  pig-pens.  I  do  not  want 
my  sheep  to  be  compelled  to  eat  up  the  straw  and  corn-stalks  too 
close.  1  want  them  to  pick  out  what  they  like,  and  then  throw 
away  what  they  leave  in  the  troughs  for  bedding.  Sometimes  we 
take  out  a  five-bu&hel  ba.sketful  of  these  direct  from  the  troughs, 
for  bedding  young  i)igs,  or  sows  and  pigs  in  the  pens,  but  as  a 
rule,  we  use  them  first  for  bedding  the  sheep,  and  then  afterwards 
use  the  sheep  bedding  in  the  fattening  or  store  jiig-jjcns. 

"  And  sometimes,"  remarked  the  Deacon,  "  you  u.se  a  little  long 
straw  for  your  young  jiigs  to  sleep  on,  so  that  they  can  bury 
themselves  in  the  straw  and  keep  warm." 

"  True,"  I  replied,  "  and  it  is  not  a  bad  plan,  but  we  are  not 
now  talking  about  the  management  of  pigs,  but  how  wc  treat  our 
manure,  and  how  wc  manage  to  have  it  ferment  all  winter." 

A  good  deal  of  our  pig-manure  is,  to  1)orrow  a  phrase  from  the 
pomologists,  "  double-worked."  It  is  horse  or  sheei>manure, 
used  for  bedding  pigs  and  cows.  It  is  saturated  with  urine,  and  is 
much  richer  in  nitrogenous  material  than  ordinary  manure,  and 
consequently  will  ferment  or  j)utnfy  much  more  rapidly.  Usually 
pig-mauure  is  consid-Mcd  '"  cold,"  or  sluggish,  but  this  double- 


MY    OWN    PLAN    OF    MANACIVO    MANURE.  S'H 

worki'd  pij^-manuri"  will  liriiKiit  cvfii  more  rapidly  tiiaii  slu-ip  or 
liorso-inanure  alDiie. 

Unniixed  c«»w-manure  in  heavy  and  cold,  and  wlicii  kept  in  a 
iieaj)  i»y  itself  out  of  iloor>!,  is  almost  certain  to  freeze  up  solid  dur- 
inj;  tlie  winter. 

We  usually  wheel  out  our  eow-dunir  every  uay,  and  spread  on 
tlie  manure  heap. 

This  is  one  of  the  things  that  needs  attention.  Tlicre  will  be 
a  constant  tendency  to  put  all  the  cow-dun;::  toi^ether,  instead  of 
mixinir  it  with  the  lii^uter  and  more  active  manure  from  theliorses, 
sIkh'p,  and  pii:^"-  Spread  it  out  and  cover  it  with  some  of  the  more 
strawy  manure,  which  is  not  so  lial)le  to  freeze. 

Sli  )uld  it  so  happen — as  v/ill  most  likely  he  the  case — that  on 
lookini;  at  your  heap  some  mornini;  when  the  thermometer  is 
below  zero, you  find  that  several  wlieel-harrowfuls  of  manure  that 
were  put  on  the  heap  the  ilay  before,  were  not  s|)rea  l,and  are  now 
crusted  over  with  ice,  it  will  be  well  to  break  up  the  barrowfuls, 
even  if  necessary  to  use  a  crowb  ir,  and  place  the  frozen  lumps  of 
manure  on  the  outside  of  the  heap,  ratlur  tiian  to  let  tliem  liejn  the 
center  of  tlip  pile.  Your  aim  should  b?  ahv  lys  to  keep  the  center 
of  the  heap  warm  and  in  a  state  of  fermentation.  You  do  not 
want  the  fire  to  2:0  out,  aud  it  will  not  go  out  if  the  heap  is  prop- 
erly managed,  even  should  all  the  sides  and  top  be  crusted  over 
with  a  layer  of  frozen  manure. 

During  very  severe  weather,  and  when  the  top  is  frozen,  it  is  a  good 
plan,  when  you  are  about  to  wheel  some  fresli  manure  on  to  the 
heap,  to  remove  a  portion  of  tlie  frozen  crust  on  top  of  the  heap, 
near  tiie  center,  and  make  a  hole  for  the  fresh  manure,  which 
should  l)e  spread  and  covered  up. 

When  the  heap  is  high  enough,  say  five  feet,  we  commence  an- 
other heap  alongside.  In  doing  this,  oir  plan  is  to  clean  out  some 
of  the  sheep-sheds  or  pig-pens,  where  the  manure  ha-s  accumulated 
for  some  time.  This  gives  us  much  more  than  the  daily  supply. 
Place  this  manure  on  the  outside  of  the  new  heap,  and  tlien  take  a 
quantity  of  hot,  fermenting,  mmure  from  the  middle  of  tlic  old 
heap,  and  throw  it  into  the  center  of  the  new  heap,  and  then  cover 
it  up  with  the  fresh  manure.  I  would  put  in  eight  or  ten  i)ushel.s. 
or  as  much  as  will  war:n  up  the  center  of  the  new  lieap,  and  start 
fermentation.  The  colder  tiie  weather,  the  more  of  this  hot 
manure  should  you  take  fro!n  the  old  heap— the  more  the  better. 
Fresh  manure  should  be  added  to  the  old  heap  to  fill  up  the  hole 
made  by  the  removal  of  the  hot  manure. 


88 


TALKS    OX    MAXl'RES. 


"  Vou  draw  uul  a  i^ri-at  uyv.iy  loads  t»f  iiiaiiuru  iliirini;  the 
winter,"  said  tiie  Deacon,  "and  pile  il  in  the  tield,  and  1  have  al- 
ways thouf^lit  it  a  good  plan,  as  you  do  the  work  when  there  is 
little  else  to  do,  and  when  tlie  ijronnd  is  frozen." 

Yes,  this  is  an  imj>rovenieiit  on  my  old  plan.  I  fonncrly  used 
to  turn  over  the  heap  of  manure  in  the  burn-yard  in  .Mareh,  or  as 
soon  as  fermentation  had  eea.sed. 

Tlie  objeet  of  liirniiiLr  the  he  ip  is  (1st,)  to  mix  liir  manure  and 
make  it  of  uniform  quality;  (21.)  to  break  tiie  lumps  and  make  the 
manure  tine;  and  {:Jd,)  to  li:,'hten  up  the  manure  and  make  it 
loose,  thus  letting  in  the  air  and  indueing  a  second  fermentation. 
It  is  a  good  plan,  and  well  rej^ays  for  the  labor.  In  doing  the 
work,  build  up  the  end  and  ^ides  of  the  new  heap  straight, 
and  keep  the  toj*  Hat.  Have  an  eye  on  the  man  d<fing  the  work, 
and  see  that  he  bn-aks  up  the  manure  and  mi.xes  it  thorouirhly, 
and  that  he  giH:ii  to  the  ImjIIohi  of  the  hf^ip. 


My  new  plan  that  the  De.icon  allud.  s  i...  :>,  insicad  ol  lurnmg 
the  heap  in  the  yard,  to  dr.iw  the  manure  fn.m  the  heap  in  the 
yard,  and  pile  it  up  in  another  hr-ap  in  the  rt.ld  where  it  is  to  he 
used.  This  lias  all  tlir-  etFecIs  of  turning,  and  at  the  sjuue  time 
saves  a  good  deal  of  teamwork  in  the  spring. 


1    A    1 

0 

0 
0 

0 

0 

CDE 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
_                                                  0 

1    B    1 

A,  B,  Mnuinr  Hinps ;  C, 


The  location  of  the  manure-heap  in  the 
field  deserves  some  consideration.  If  the 
manure  is  to  be  used  fo"*  root-crops  or  po- 
tatoes, and  if  the  land  is  to  be  ridged,  and 
the  mainne  put  in  the  ridges,  then  it  will 
be  desirable  to  jmt  the  heap  on  the  head- 
land, or,  belter  still,  to  make  two  heaps, 
one  on  the  headland  top  of  the  field,  and 
the  other  on  the  headlaiul  at  the  bottom  of 
the  field.as  shown  in  the  annexed  engraving. 

We  draw  the  manure  with  a  cirt,  the 
horse  walking  between  two  of  the  ridges 
(D),  ;.nd  the  wheels  of  tin-  <:irt  going  in  C 
and  E.  The  manure  is  pidled  out  at  the 
back  end  of  the  cart  in.o  small  heaps, 
about  five  paces  a|>art. 

"  That  is  what  I  object  to  with  you 
agricultural  writers,"  said  the  Doctor;  "you 
say  'about  five  paces,'  and  sometimes  '  altont 


five  paces  would  mean  4  yards,  and  sometimes  6  3'ards;  and  if  you 


MY    OWN     1*1. AN     OK    .M.\NA<.IN«.     »IAM   KK. 


bit 


put  10  tons  of  iiMiuiP'  |X'i  .un"  in  llu-  one  case,  \(MI  wonlil  put  l") 
Ions  ni  the  ol'nT — wliiili  ni.ikrs  tinili-  a  ilitlVTrncc  in  tin-  liosr." 

TIm'  I)<K-lor  is  ritrlil.  Lti  ns  fiixmi-  h  liltir.  If  your  carl  Imlds 
20  bushrls.  Hnd  if  tlu-  manure  wii;;lis  7."i  II).-*.  t<»  liie  bu^lxl  and 
you  \vi.>h  t<)  jtul  on  10  Ions  of  manure  |Mr  ulw,  or  1,5(K)  husluls, 
or  V'ik  rarl-l«iMds,  then,  as  there  an'  4;{,r>(i(»  s(|uare  feet  in  an  acre, 
you  want  a  bushei  of  manure  to  21)  square  feet,  or  say  a  spaee  2 
yanis  louj;,  by  nearly  5  feel  wide. 

Now,  art  our  ridu'i's  are  '2\  feet  apart,  anti  as  our  usual  plan  is 
to  mauun'  5  ritlijes  at  u  time,  or  12J  f<ct  wide,  a  load  of  20 
bushels  of  manure  will  j;"  over  a  spare  AVtlj  feet  lonir,  nearly,  or 
say  15^  yards ;  anil  S4>,  a  load  would  make  :t  Ik  aps,  IT)^  feet  upurl, 
and  there  would  be  Uj  bushels  in  eaeli  liea|>. 


If  the  manure  is  to  Ik-  spread  on  the  surface  of  the  land,  there  is 
no  necessity  for  placing'  the  heap  on  the  headland.  You  can  make 
the  heap  or  heaps. —  '  Where  most  convenient."  broke  in  the  Dea- 
con.— "  N<»,  not  by  any  means,"  I  replied;  "for  if  that  was  the 
rule,  the  men  would  certainly  ptit  the  heap  just  where  it  happened 
to  Ik>  the  least  trouble  for  them  to  draw  and  throw  olF  the  load.s." 

The  aim  should  be  to  put  the  heap  just  where  it  will  recjuire 
the  least  lalK)r  to  draw  the  manure  on  to  the  land  in  the  sprinj:. 

On  what  we  call  "  rolling,"  or  hilly  land.  I  would  put  the  heap 
on  the  hiirhest  land,  so  that  in  the  sprim;  the  horses  would  be 
g«)inir  down  hill  with  the  full  carts  or  wairons.  Of  course,  it 
would  be  very  unwis*'  to  adopt  this  plan  if  the  manure  was  not 


o 
oi. 

a. 

S 

of. 
C: 

oi 

.RPP.S^l.Q.BOP.S      ^.    10  ROD 

V,' 

a. 
o: 
B; 

%, 

Field,  40x20  7?o/,i.  xhoirbif)  I\>)>i(i<m  oj  hr<,  lh<ji,s  of  .V<inure,  a,  a. 

drawn  from  the  yards  until  sprinc:,  when  the  land  was  soft; 
but  I  am  now  speakinir  of  drawin-r  out  the  manure  in  the  winter, 
■when  there  is  sleiirhini:,  or  wiien  tlie  rrround  is  frozen.  No  farm- 
er will  object  to  a  little  extra  I  ibor  for  the  teams  in  the  winter,  if 
it  will  save  work  and  time  in  the  spring. 


90 


TALKS   OX   MAXURBS. 


If  the  land  is  k-vel,  then  the  heap  <>r  heaps  should  he  placed 
where  the  least  distance  will  have  to  be  traveled  in  drawinij;  the 
manure  from  the  heap  to  the  land.  If  there  is  only  one  he;i|),  the 
best  point  would  be  in  the  center  of  the  field.  If  two  heaps,  and 
the  field  is  longer  tlian  it  is  broad,  say  30  rods  wide,  and  40  rods 
long,  then  the  heaps  should  be  made  as  shown  on  the  previous 
page. 

If  the  field  is  square,  say  40  x  40  rods,  and  we  ran  have  four 
heaps  of  manure,  then,  otlier  things  brin;;  eijual,  the  best  points 
for  the  heaps  are  shown  in  the  annexed  figure: 


Is 


<ORODS 


10    RODS 


QQUtiOl 


"to 


Iw 


.1.P..R9D.S 


# 


saow  01 


.10  RODS 


mdd,  40x40  Iio(h,  showinff  Ihsitwn  offtmr  Il-aps  'if  Manure,  a.  n,  a,  a. 

Having  determined  where  to  make  the  lieaps,  the  next  question 
is  in  regard  to  size.  We  make  one  about  H  feet  wide  and  G  feet 
high,  the  length  being  determined  by  the  quantity  of  the  manure 
we  have  to  draw.  In  cold  weather,  it  is  well  to  finish  the  heap 
each  day  as  far  as  you  go,  so  that  the  sloping  side  at  the  end  of  the 
heap  will  not  be  frozen  during  the  night.  Build  up  the  sides 
square,  so  that  the  top  of  the  heap  shall  be  as  broad  as  the  bottom. 
You  will  liave  to  see  that  this  is  done,  for  the  average  farm- 
man,  if  left  to  himself,  will  certainly  narrow  up  the  heap  like  the 
roof  of  a  house.  The  reason  he  does  this  is  that  he  throws  the 
manure  from  the  load  into  the  center  of  tlie  heap,  and  he  can  not 
build  up  the  sides  straight  and  square  witlioiif  getting  on  to  the 
heap  occasionally,  and  pi  i  ing  a  layer  round  the  outsides.     lie 


MY    OWN    I'L.VV    OF    M.V.\A<,IN«l    MANUKB.  9l 

Bhould  bo  iiislrurUd,  too,  to  l)rr;ik  up  tin-  lump-:,  and  mix  tlic  ma- 
nurr,  workini:  it  ovi.-r  until  it  is  loosi-  uid  tiiu-.  li  lliere  arc  any 
Irozrn  nia.ssi-s  of  inanur*-,  place  tlu  m  on  the  east  or  south  outsiiie, 
Hnd  not  in  the  inidille  of  tlie  heap. 

If  there  is  any  manure  in  the  sheds,  or  basements,  or  cellars,  or 
piir-pens,  clean  it  out,  and  draw  it  at  onee  to  the  pile  in  tiie  field, 
iDil  mix  it  with  tiie  manure  you  are  drawing  from  the  heap  in 
the  yard 

Wc  generally  driw  with  two  teams  and  three  waijons.  We 
have  one  man  to  Mil  the  wairon  in  the  yard,  and  two  men  to  drive 
and  unload  When  tlic  man  comes  back  from  the  field,  he  places 
his  empty  waijon  by  the  sidj  of  tiie  heap  in  the  yard,  and  takes 
oir  the  horses  and  puts  tlu-m  to  the  loaded  wagon,  and  drives  to 
the  heap  in  the  field.  If  wc  have  men  and  teams  enough,  we 
draw  with  three  teams  and  three  wagons.  In  this  case,  we  put  a 
rolial)le  man  at  the  heap,  who  helps  the  driver  to  unload,  and  sees 
that  the  heap  is  built  properly.  The  driver  helps  the  man  in  the 
yanl  to  load  up.  In  the  former  plan,  we  have  two  teams  and  three 
men  ;  in  the  latter  cjuse,  we  have  three  teams  and  five  men,  and  as 
we  have  two  men  loadim:  and  unloading,  instead  of  one,  we  ought 
to  draw  out  double  th<'  tiuiintily  of  manure  in  a  day.  If  the 
weather  is  cold  and  windy,  we  ])Ul  the  blankets  on  the  horses  un- 
dei  the  harness,  so  that  they  will  not  l)C  chilled  while  standing  at 
the  heap  in  the  yard  or  field.  They  will  trot  back  lively  with  the 
empty  wagon  or  sleigh,  and  the  work  will  proceed  briskly,  and 
the  manure  be  less  exposed  to  the  cold. 

"  You  do  not,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  draw  the  manure  on  to  the  heap 
with  a  cart,  and  dump  it.  as  I  have  seen  it  done  in  England  V" 

I  did  so  a  few  years  ago,  and  might  do  so  again  if  I  was  piling 
manure  in  the  spring,  to  be  kept  over  summer  for  use  in  the  fall. 
The  compression  caused  by  drawing  the  cart  over  the  manure,  has 
a  tendency  to  exclude  the  air  and  thus  retard  fermentation.  In 
the  winter  there  is  certainly  no  necessity  for  resorting  to  any 
means  for  checking  fermentation.  In  the  spring  or  summer  it  may 
be  well  to  compress  the  heap  a  little,  but  not  more,  I  think,  than 
can  be  done  by  the  trampling  of  the  workman  in  spreading  the 
manure  on  the  heap 


"  You  do  not,"  saiti  the  Doctor,  "  adojit  the  old-fashioned  English 
plan  of  keeping  your  manure  in  a  basin  in  the  barn-yard,  and  yet 
I  should  think  it  has  some  advantages." 


92  TALKS    ON    MAX  IKES. 

"  I  practised  it  lierc,"  suid  I,  "  f<ir  some  years.  I  plowed  and 
scraped  a  lari^ebole  or  basin  in  tlie  yanl  four  or  five  feet  deep,  with 
a  gradual  slope  at  one  end  for  convenience  in  drawing  out  the 
loads — tlie  other  sides  being  much  steeper.  I  also  made  a  tank  at 
the  bottom  to  hold  tlie  drainage,  and  ha<l  a  pump  in  it  to  pump 
the  liquid  back  on  to  the  heap  in  dry  weather.  We  threw  or 
wheeled  tiic  manure  from  the  ^tables  and  pig-pens  into  this  l)asin, 
but  I  did  not  like  the  plan,  for  two  rea.sons :  (1,)  the  manure  being 
sprerul  over  so  large  a  surface  froze  during  winter,  and  (2.)  during 
the  spring  there  was  so  much  water  in  the  basin  that  it  checked 
fermentation." 

Is'ow,  instead  (»f  spreading  it  all  over  the  basin,  we  commenced  a 
small  iieap  on  one  of  the  sloping  sides  of  the  basin;  with  a  horse 
and  cart  we  drew  to  this  heap,  just  as  winter  set  in,  every  bit  of 
maiuire  that  eoidd  be  found  on  the  premises,  and  everything  that 
woidd  make  manure.  When  got  all  together,  it  made  a  heap  seven 
or  eiglit  feet  wide,  twenty  feet  l<>nu',  and  three  or  ftmr  feet  high. 
We  then  laid  planks  on  the  heip,  and  every  day,  as  the  jtig-jH-ns, 
cow  and  horse  stables  were  eleaneil  out,  the  manure  was  wheeled 
on  to  the  heap  and  shaken  out  and  spread  about.  The  heaji  .soon 
commenced  to  ferment,  and  when  thccold  weather  set  in,  altliough 
the  sides  and  some  parts  of  the  top  froze  u  little,  the  inside  ke|)t 
quite  warm.  Little  chimneys  were  formed  in  the  heap,  where  the 
heat  and  steam  escaped.  Other  parts  of  the  heap  would  be  covered 
with  a  thin  crust  of  frozen  manure.  B}'  taking  a  few  forkfuls  of 
the  latter,  and  jilaeing  them  on  the  top  of  the  "chimneys,"  they 
checked  the  escape  of  steam,  and  ha<l  a  tendency  to  distribute  the 
heat  to  other  parts  of  the  heap.  In  this  way  the  fermentation  be- 
came more  general  throughout  all  the  nia.ss,  and  not  so  violent  at 
any  one  spot. 

"  But  why  be  at  all  this  trouble  ?" — For  several  reasons.  First. 
It  saves  labor  in  the  end.  Two  hours'  work,  in  winter,  will  save 
three  hours'  work  in  the  spring.  And  three  hours'  work  in  the 
spring  is  worth  more  than  four  hours'  work  in  the  winter.  So 
that  we  .save  half  the  expense  of  handling  the  manure.  2d.  When 
manure  is  allowed  to  lie  scattered  about  over  a  large  surface,  it  is 
liable  to  have  much  of  its  value  washed  out  by  the  rain.  In  a  com- 
pact heap  of  this  kind,  the  rain  or  snow  that  falls  on  it  is  not  more 
than  the  manure  needs  to  kee]>  it  moist  enough  for  feriuentation. 
'3d.  There  is  as  much  fascination  in  this  fermenting  heap  of 
manure  as  tliere  is  in  having  money  in  a  savings  bank.  One  is 
continually  trying  to  add  to  it.  Many  a  cart-load  or  Avheel-barrow- 
ful  of  material  will  be  deposited  that  woidd  otherwise  be  allowed 


MY    OWN    ri.AN    OF    M.VNAi;lN<;    MANIIIK.  93 

to  run  to  waslc.  llli.  Tin.'  iiiaiiiirr,  if  tunic  I  over  in  KcIhu.iiv  or 
Marcli,  will  III' ill  capital  orilcr  for  applyiui;  to  root  rrojis ;  or  if 
your  hay  auil  straw  contains  we»il-.'>ccils,  the  niannre  will  be  in 
tfood  contliliou  lo  spread  us  a  top-drcssinij  on  gntss-laiul  early  in 
the  spriniT.  This.  1  think,  is  heller  than  kecpin*,'  it  in  the  yards 
ull  suninuT,  and  then  drawing  it  out  (»n  the  gniss  hiiul  in  Septem- 
ber. You  gain  six  months'  or  a  yt  ar's  time.  You  gil  a  si)leudid 
growtli  of  rich  grass,  anil  tiie  rel-nujt  seeds  will  gtrminate  next 
Septenilwr  just  as  well  as  if  tne  manure  was  dniwn  out  at  that 
time.  If  the  manure  is  dniwn  out  early  in  the  spring,  and  spread 
out  immediately,  and  then  harrowe<l  two  or  thri'c  tim«'s  willj  a 
Thomas' smoothing-harrow,  there  is  no  dan^'er  of  its  imparling  a 
rank  flavor  to  the  grass.  I  know  from  repeateu  trials  tliat  when 
part  of  a  pasture  is  top-dresseil,  cows  and  sheep  will  keep  it  much 
more  closely  cropped  down  than  the  part  which  has  not  been 
manured.  The  idea  to  the  <-ontrary  ori.Lrinated  from  not  spread- 
ing the  m  mure  evenly. 

"But  wiiy  fenncnt  the  manure  :it  all  ?  Why  not  draw  it  out 
fn'sli  from  the  yards?  Does  fermentation  inena>e  the  amount  of 
plant-food  in  the  manure':'" — No.  But  it  renders  the  plant-food 
in  the  manure  mon.'  immc  Hatily  available.  It  makes  it  more 
soluble.  We  ferment  manure  for  the  sjime  reason  that  wc  de- 
compose bone-du>t  or  minerd  phosphates  with  sulphuric  acid,  and 
convert  them  into  superphosphate,  or  for  the  same  reason  that  we 
grind  our  corn  and  cook  the  meal.  These  processes  add  nothing 
to  the  amount  of  plant- food  in  the  bones  or  the  nutriment  in  tlie 
corn.  They  only  increase  its  availability.  So  in  fermenting 
manure.  When  the  liquid  and  solid  e:;crcmcnts  from  well-fed 
ani^nil-,  witli  tlie  straw  necessary  to  absnrli  the  lifiuid,  are  placed 
in  a  ho  jp,  fermentation  sets  in  and  soon  efTects  very  important 
changes  in  the  nature  and  composition  of  the  materials.  The  in- 
soluble woody  fibre  of  the  straw  is  decomposed  and  converted  into 
humic  and  ulmic  acids.  These  are  insoluble;  and  when  manure 
consists  almost  wholl}'  of  straw  or  corn  .stalks,  there  would  be 
little  gained  by  fermenting  it.  But  when  there  is  a  good  propor- 
tion of  manure  from  well  fed  animals  in  tb.e  heap,  carbonate  of 
ammonia  is  formed  from  the  nitrogenous  compounds  in  the 
manure,  and  this  ammonia  unites  with  tiie  humic  and  ulmic  acids 
and  forms  humale  and  ulmate  of  ammonia.  Tiiese  ammoniacal 
salts  are  solubk>  in  water — as  the  brown  color  of  tlie  drainings  of 
a  manure  heap  snfRtieniiy  indicates. 

Properly  fermented  manure,  therefore,  of  good  quality,  is  a 
much  more  active  and  immediately  useful  fertilizer  tuan  fresh,  un- 


94  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

fviiiKiitcd  manure.  TluTc  neril  Itc  no  loss  of  ammonia  from 
evai)orali<Mi,  and  tlu-  mauuro  is  far  Irs^  liulky,  and  costs  fur  less 
labor  to  draw  out  and  s|)rca<l.  The  only  loss  that  is  likciy  to 
occur  ia  from  leaching,  aud  thia  muat  be  specially  guarded  against. 


C  ][  A  P  T  E  li    X  X  I. 

THE    .MANACKMENT    OF    MAMHES.— Com  im  kd. 
WHY   DO   WE  fEUMENT  MANUUE  ? 

nowevcr  much  farmers  may  difft-r  in  regard  to  the  a«lvanUigC3 
or  disadvantages  of  fermenting  manun*,  I  have  never  met  with 
one  wiio  contended  tiiat  it  was  gooil,  either  in  theory  or  practice, 
to  leave  manure  for  months,  scalten-d  over  a  ham-yard,  exitosed 
to  the  spring  and  autumn  rains,  and  to  tlic  sumn>er's  sun  and 
wind.  All  admit  that,  if  it  is  necessiiry  to  leave  manure  in  the 
yar  Is,  it  should  be  either  thrown  into  a  basin,  or  put  into  a  j)ilo 
or  heap,  where  it  will  be  compaer,  and  not  much  exposed. 

We  did  not  need  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Vadcker  to  convince 
us  that  there  was  great  waste  in  leaving  manure  exposed  to  the 
leaching  action  of  our  heavy  rains.  We  did  not  know  exactly  how 
much  we  lost,  but  we  knew  it  must  be  considerable.  No  <me  ad 
vocates  the  practice  of  exposing  manure,  and  it  is  of  no  use  to  dis 
cuss  the  matter.  All  will  admit  tliat  it  is  unwise  and  wasteful  to 
allow  manure  to  lie  scallered  and  exposed  over  tlie  barn-yards 
any  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

We  sliould  either  draw  it  directly  to  the  field  ami  use  it,  or  we 
should  make  it  into  a  compaet  heaj>,  wliere  it  will  not  receive 
more  rain  than  is  needed  to  keep  it  moist. 

One  reason  for  piling  manure,  therefore,  is  to  preserve  it  from 
loss,  until  we  wish  to  use  it  on  the  land. 

"  We  all  admit  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  Init  is  there  anything 
actually  gained  by  fermenting  it  in  the  htap?" — In  one  sense, 
no  ;  but  in  another,  and  very  important  sense,  yes.  When  we 
cook  corn-meal  for  our  little  pigs,  we  add  nothing  to  it.  We  have 
no  more  meal  after  it  is  cooked  than  before.  There  are  no  more 
starch,  or  oil,  or  nitrogenous  matters  in  the  meal,  but  we  think  the 
pigs  cau  digest  the  food  more  readilj'.     And  so,  in  fermenting 


I 


niK    MAN  VtJEMKNT    OK    MAM'KES.  Di> 

manun,  we  add  nulhiiii;  to  il  ;  thorr  is  iio  inori'  aclual  nitroirpn, 
or  phtispljorir  acid,  or  jiola^li,  t»r  any  otlitr  iiii:rfdiciit  after  ftr 
DR-iilation  lliaii  tberi-  was  bcfori",  imt  tlit!**'  iiifiR-dicnl.s  art'  rt  iidcrtM] 
more  soiiiblf,  and  can  Sc  more  nipialy  taken  up  by  the  j  hints.  In 
this  sense,  therefore,  there  is  a  great  gain. 

One  lliin!?  is  certain,  we  do  not,  in    many   cases,  pet  anylliinp 
like  as  much  bene'Jt  from  our  manure  us  the  int;rcdients  il  cou 
Uiins  wimld  lead  us  to  ex|H.-cL 

Mr.  I^awes,  on  Ins  clayey  soil  at  Hothamsted,  England,  has 
pn>wn  over  tliirty  crops  of  wheat,  year  aft«T  year,  on  tlie  san»e 
land.  One  plot  has  received  14  tons  of  ".tarn-yard  manure  per 
acre  every  year,  antl  yet  the  produce  from  this  phit  is  no  hirt'er, 
and,  in  fact,  is  fncpiently  much  less,  than  from  a  few  hundred 
|>ounds  of  artificial  manure  containim:  far  les.-*  nitropen. 

For  nineti-en  years,  iKl'i  to  isTO,  s»tme  .)f  the  pl<»ts  have  received 
the  saniL'  manure  year  after  year.  Thi'  folhiwitii:  shows  tlie  </r<T 
aye  yield  for  the  nineteen  years : 

Whrat  Stfiiw 

]ter  anr.  pi  r  wrr. 

Plot  5. — Mixed  nifnend  manure,  alone 17  bus.  15  cwL 

'*    6.— .Mixcil  mineral  inunure,  and  'Mt  lbs.  ttniinu- 

Jijaeal  salts 27  lius.  25  cwt. 

"    7. — Mixed  mineral  manure,  anil  -Kio  lbs.  amnio- 

niacal  salts ;;0  t)us.  3G  cwt. 

"    9. — Mixed  mineral  manure,  and  55(»  llis.  nitrate 

of  soda 37  bus.  41  cwt. 

"    2. — 14  tons  farm-yard  Junp SO  bus.  34  cwt. 

The  14  tons  (31,360  lbs.)  of  farm-yard  manure  contained  about 
8,540  liis.  orpaliic  luatter,  8G8  His.  mineral  matter,  and  200  lbs.  ni- 
lroL:en.  Tiic  4(HJ  lbs.  of  ammoniacal  salts,  and  the  r>.jO  lbs.  nitrate 
of  soda,  each  contained  82  lbs.  of  nitropen;  and  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  82  lbs.  of  nitropi  n  produced  as  preat  an  effect  as  the  200 
ll)s.  of  nitropen  in  barn-yard  manure. 

Similar  experiments  have  been  made  on  barhy,  with  even  more 
strikinp  results.  The  plot  dressed  with  300  lbs.  superphosphate  of 
lime,  and  300  lbs.  ammoniacal  salts  per  acre,  produced  as  larpe  a 
crop  as  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure.  The  averape  yield  of  barley 
for  nineteen  crops  prown  on  the  same  land  each  year  was  48  bus.  and 
28  cwt.  of  straw  i>er  acre  on  both  pi  ts.  In  other  words,  41  lbs.  of 
nitropen.  in  ammoniacal  salt^,  produced  r.s  preat  an  effect  as  200 
lbs.  (tf  nitropen  in  farmyard  manure  !  Durinp  the  nineteen  years, 
vne  plot  had  received  102.200  lbs.  of  orpanic  matter.  16,4!t2  lbs.  of 
mineral  matter,  and  3.800  lbs.  of  nitropen;  while  the  other  had 
received  only  5,700  lbs.  mineral  matter,  and  77fl  lbs.  of  nitropen- 
and  yet  one  has  produced  as  large  a  crop  as  the  other. 


96  TALKS    ON    MANIRES. 

Why  this  difference  ?  ll  will  not  du  to  say  iliat  more  nitrog* 
was  applied  in  the  farm-yard  lainure  than  was  needed.  M> 
Lawes  says  :  "  For  sume  years,  an  ainounl  of  aniinouia-salls,  cou 
tainiiig  82  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  was  apidied  to  one  series  of  plots  (oi 
barley),  but  this  was  found  to  be  too  much,  tbc  crop  generally 
being  too  heavy  and  laid.  Yet  prob.ibly  alxiut  200  lbs.  of  uitrogec 
was  annually  supplied  in  the  dung,  but  with  it  there  was  no  over- 
luxuriance,  and  uo  more  crop,  than  where  41  lbs.  of  nitrogen  was 
supplied  in  the  form  of  ammonia  or  nitric  acid." 

It  would  seem  that  there  can  be  but  one  explanation  of  these 
accurately-ascertained  facts.  The  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  ma- 
nure is  not  in  an  available  condition.  It  Ls  in  the  manure,  l)Ul  the 
plants  can  not  take  it  up  until  it  is  decomposed  and  rendered  sol- 
ul)le.  Dr.  VcDlcker  analyzed  "  perfectly  fresh  horse-dung,"  and 
found  that  of  fne  ammonia  there  w  as  not  mure  than  one  pound 
in  \~i  tons  !  And  yet  these  15  tons  contained  nitrogen  enough  to 
furnish  140  lbs.  of  ammonia. 

"  But,"  it  may  be  a.skcd,  "  will  nut  this  fresh  manure  decompose 
in  the  soil,  and  furnisli  ammonia  ?  "  In  liglit,  sandy  soil,  1  pre- 
sume it  will  do  so  to  a  consi  Icrablc  extent.  We  know  that  clay 
mixed  with  manure  retards  fermentatio;i,  but  sand  mixed  with 
manure  accelerates  fermentation.  This,  at  any  rate,  is  the  case 
when  sand  is  added  in  sm  dl  quantities  to  a  heap  of  fermenting 
manure.  But  I  do  not  suppose-  it  would  have  the  siime  cfTect  when 
a  small  quantity  of  manure  is  mixed  with  a  large  amount  of  sand, 
as  is  the  ca.se  when  manure  is  applied  to  land,  and  plowed  under. 
At  any  rate,  practical  farmers,  with  almost  entire  unanimity,  think 
well-rotted  manure  is  better  for  sandy  land  than  fre.sh  manure. 

As  to  how  rapidly,  or  rather  how  slowly,  manure  decomposes 
in  a  rather  heavy  loamy  soil,  the  above -experiments  of  Mr.  Lawes 
afford  very  cunclusive,  but  at  the  sime  time  very  disrouracring 
evidence.  During  the  19  years,  3,^00  His.  of  nitrogen,  and  1G,4!»2 
lbs.  of  mineral  matter,  in  the  form  of  farm-yard  manure,  were  ap- 
plied to  an  acre  of  land,  and  tlie  19  crops  of  barley  in  irrain  and 
straw  removed  only  3,724  lbs.  of  mineral  matter,  and  1,001  ll)s.  of 
nilr.)gen.  The  soil  now  contains,  unless  it  has  drained  away, 
1,7;JG  lbs.  more  nitrogen  per  acre  tlian  it  did  when  the  experiments 
comnipnced.  And  yet  41  lbs.  of  nitrogen  in  an  ava'Iahle  mndlt'on 
is  sufficient  to  produce  a  good  large  crop  of  liarley,  and  S2  lbs.  per 
acre  fnrnislied  more  than  the  plants  could  <ir>raiiize. 

"  Those  are  very  interesting  experiments,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  ani 
show  why  it  is  that  our  farmers  can  afford  to  jiay  a  hlLMicr  priic 
for  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  superphosphate,  and  other  ar 


TiiK  m.vna<;emest  (»f  manures.  97 

tificiul  manures,  than  for  Ihu  same  aiuuuut  of  nilrogeii  auil  phos- 
pliuric  acid  iu  siablc-mauurc." 

We  will  uol  discusi  tiiis  point  at  present.  What  1  waut  to  as- 
certain is,  whellicr  we  can  not  tind  some  method  of  maiiiui;  our 
farm-yard  manure  more  reiidily  available'.  Piliiig  it  up,  and  let- 
ting It  ftrnunt,  is  one  uu  Ihod  of  doing  this,  though  1  think  other 
mt  tliods  will  yt-'t  be  disiovired.  Possibly  it  will  be  found  that 
spreaciing  wiU-rulted  nianure  on  the  surface  of  the  lanil  will  be 
one  of  the  m<i&t  jiraclical  ajid  simiilt  st  methods  of  accomplishing 
this  objecl. 

"We  pile  the  manure,  therefore,"  said  Charley,  "  first,  because 
we  do  not  wish  it  to  lie  exposed  to  the  rain  in  the  yards, 
and,  second,  becauM-  fermenting  it  in  the  heap  renders  it  more 
soluble,  and  otherwise  more  available  for  the  crops,  when  a])plied 
to  the  land." 

That  is  it  exactly,  and  another  reason  for  piling  manure  is,  that 
the  fermentation  greatly  reduces  its  bulk,  and  we  have  less  labor 
to  perform  in  ilrawing  it  out  and  spreading  it.  Elhvanger  & 
Barry,  who  dniw  several  thousand  loads  of  slaltle-manure  every 
year,  and  pile  it  up  to  fcrnunt,  t«  11  me  that  it  takes  three  loads  of 
fresh  manure  to  make  one  load  of  rottctl  manure.  This,  of  course, 
has  reference  to  bulk,  and  not  wei^dit.  Time  tons  of  fresh  barn-yard 
manure,  accordinsr  to  the  experiment.<?  of  Dr.  Vcelekcr,  will  make 
about  two  tons  when  well  rotted.  tZwn  this  is  a  irreat  saving  of 
lalM>r,  and  the  mtted  manure  can  be  more  easily  spread,  and  mixed 
more  thoroughly  with  the  soil — a  point  of  great  importance. 


"  Another  rea.<^on  for  fermenting  manure,"  said  the  S<iuire,  "  is 
the  destruction  of  weed-seeds." 

"That  is  true,"  said  I.  "  and  a  very  important  reason  ;  but  I  try 
not  to  tliink  about  this  method  of  killim:  weed-seeds.  It  is  a  great 
deal  better  to  kill  the  weeds.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  fcr- 
mentin<r  mannre-lieap  w  ill  kill  many  of  the  weed-peeds,  l)ut  enough 
will  usually  escape  to  re-seed  the  land." 

It  is  fortunate,  however,  that  the  best  means  to  kill  weed-seeds 
in  the  manure,  arc  also  the  best  for  rendering  the  manure  most 
efficient.  I  was  talking  to  John  Johnston  on  this  subject  a  few 
days  ago.     He  told  me  how  he  piled  manure  in  his  yards. 

"  I  commence,"  he  said,  "  where  the  heap  is  intended  to  be,  and 
throw  the  manure  on  one  side,  until  the  bare  ground  is  reached." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  that  V"  I  asked. 

"  If  you  do  not  do  so,"  he  replied,  "  there  w  ill  be  some  portion  of 
5 


98  TALKS    ON    MANUUBS, 

the  manure  uikUt  the  heap  lliat  will  be  so  compact  that  it  will  nol 

femieiil,  and  tlie  weed-seeds  will  uut  be  killed." 

"  You  think,"  said  I,  "  that  weed-seeds  can  be  killed  in  this  way?" 
"  I  know  lliey  can,"  he  replied,"  but  the  heap  must  be  carefully 

made,  so  thai  il  will  fernunt  evenly,  and  when  the  pile  is  turned, 

the  bottom  and  sides  should  be  thrown  into  the  center  of  the  heap." 

LOSS    UF  A.MMONIA    BY    FEKMKNTiNC    M.VNIKE. 

If  you  throw  a  quantity  of  fresh  horse-niauun-  into  a  loose  heap, 
fernientatioii  proceeds  witii  great  rapidity.  Mudi  heat  is  produced, 
and  if  the  manure  is  under  cover,  or  there  is  not  rain  enout;h  to 
keep  the  heap  nmist,  the  manure  will  "  fire-fang"  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  carbonate  of  ammonia  produced  by  the  fermentalioo 
will  e.^apc  into  the  atmosphere  and  be  lost. 

As  1  have  said  before,  we  use  our  horse-manure  for  bedding  the 
store  and  fattening  pigs.  We  throw  the  manure  every  morning 
and  evening,  when  the  stable  is  cleaned  out,  into  an  empty  sUilI 
near  the  door  of  the  stable,  and  there  it  remains  until  wanttil  to 
bed  the  pigs.  >Ve  find  it  is  necessary  l<t  remove  il  fre(|ucnlly, 
es|Krially  in  the  summer,  as  fermentation  soon  sets  in,  and  the 
escape  of  the  ammonia  is  delected  by  its  well  known  pungent 
smell.  Throw  this  manure  into  the  pig-cellar  and  let  tin-  pigs 
trample  it  down,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  is<ape  of  ammonia. 
At  any  rate,  I  have  never  perceived  any.  Litmus  paper  will  detect 
ammonia  in  an  atmosphere  containing  only  one  seventy  five 
thousandtii  part  of  it;  and,  as  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson  once  remarked, 
"It  is  certain  that  a  healthy  nose  is  not  far  inferior  in  delicacy  to 
litmus  paper."  I  feel  sure  that  no  ammonia  twapes  from  this 
horse-manure  after  it  is  trampled  <lown  by  the  pigs,  although  it 
contains  an  additional  quantity  of  "  jtoteiitial  ammonia"  from  the 
licpiid  and  solid  droppings  of  these  animals. 

Water  has  a  strong  altraction  for  ammonia.  One  gallon  of  ice- 
cold  water  will  .absorb  1.150  gallons  of  ammonia. 

If  the  manure,  therefore,  is  moderately  moist,  the  ammonia  is 
not  likely  to  escape.  Furthermore,  as  Dr.  Voehker  has  shown  us, 
during  the  fermentation  of  the  manure  in  a  heap,  ulmic  and  humic, 
crenic  and  aprocreiiic  acids  are  produced,  and  these  unite  with 
the  ammonia  and  "fix"  it — in  other  words,  they  change  it  from 
a  volatile  gas  into  a  non-volatile  salt. 

If  tlie  heap  of  manure,  therefore,  is  moist  enough  and  large 
enough,  all  the  evidence  goes  to  show,  that  there  is  little  or  no 
loss  of  ammonia.  If  the  eenlre  of  the  heap  irets  .so  hot  and  .'»odry 
that  the  ammonia  is  not  reUiined,  there  is  still  noneccasity  forlosK 


THE  m\n\i;kmi:\t  ok  m.wlkks.  UO 

The  sides  of  tlie  luap  are  eool  and  moist,  and  will  retain  the  car- 
bonate of  aiuinonia,  tiie  a(  ids  uientiunrd  also  eoiniiij^  iiit(j  play. 

The  uiiiiiionia  is  iiiucli  nion-  likely  to  eseape  from  lliu  top  of  the 
heap  than  from  the  sides.  The  In  at  and  steam  form  little  chim- 
neys, and  when  a  fermenting  manure-heap  Ls  eovend  with  snow, 
these  little  chimneys  an-  readily  strn.  If  you  think  the  manure  is 
fermenting;  too  rapidly,  and  that  the  ammonia  is  escaping,  trample 
the  manure  down  tirmly  about  the  ehimneys,  thusclosin.;  them  up, 
and  if  need  he,  or  if  convenient,  throw  mure  manure  on  lop,  or 
throw  on  a  few  pailfuls  of  water. 

It  is  a  g<HKl  plan,  too,  where  conv<'nient,  to  cover  the  heap  with 
•oil.  I  sometimes  do  this  when  piliiiir  manure  in  the  field,  not 
from  fear  of  losing  atninonia,  l)Ut  in  order  ton-tain  m<tisturo  in 
the  heap.  With  proper  precautions,  I  think  we  may  .sifely  dismi.ss 
the  idea  of  any  si-rious  loss  of  ammonia  from  fermenting  manure. 

THK    WASTE    OK    MANTKK    FRo.M    LEACHING. 

As  we  have  endeavored  to  show,  tlien-  is  little  danger  of  losing 
amm.inia  hy  keeping  and  fernuntin-,'  manun-.  But  this  is  not  the 
only  <iut  stion  to  he  considered.  We  have  seen  th.it  in  10,(MK)  lbs. 
of  fresh  farm-yanl  manun-,  there  is  about  04  lbs.  of  niimijcn.  Of 
this,  about  15  lbs.  are  soluble,  and  4'J  lbs.  insoluble.  Of  mineral 
matter,  we  have  in  this  quantity  of  manure,  559  lbs.,  of  which  154 
lbs.  are  soluble  in  water,  and  405  llts.  insoluble.  If  we  had  a  heap 
of  tive  tons  of  fernu-ntinir  manure  in  a  stable,  the  es<-ape  of  half  an 
ounce  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  wouM  make  a  tremendous  snnll, 
and  we  should  at  once  use  means  to  cheek  the  escajie  of  thi.s  pre- 
cious substanee.  But  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  in  this  five  tons 
of  fn'sii  manure,  nitrogenous  matU-r,  capable  of  forming  over 
180  lbs.  of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  over  42  lbs.  of  which  is  in  a 
soluble  conilition.  This  njay  be  h-ached  day  after  d-ay,  slowly  and 
imjierceptibly,  with  no  hvat,  or  smell,  to  attract  attention. 

How  often  do  we  see  manure  lying  under  the  eaves  of  an  un- 
spouted  shed  or  bam,  where  one  of  our  heavy  showers  will  satu 
rate  it  in  a  few  minutes,  and  yet  when»  it  will  lie  for  hours,  and 
days,  and  weeks,  until  it  would  seem  that  a  large  proportion  of  its 
soluble  matter  would  be  washed  out  of  it  !  T.ie  loss  is  unques- 
tionably very  great,  and  would  be  greater  if  it  were  not  for  the 
coarse  nature  of  the  mat<-ri:il.  which  allows  the  water  to  pass 
throiigii  it  rapidly  and  without  coming  in  direct  contact  with  only 
the  outsiile  portions  of  the  particles  of  hay,  straw,  etc.,  of  which 
the  manure  is  largely  composed.  If  the  manure  was  ground  up 
very  fine,  as  it  would  be  when  prepared  <"or  analysis,  the  loss  of 


100  TALKS    ON    MANLKES. 

soluble  matter  wouUl  be  still  more  st-riou.s.  Or,  if  the  manure  was 
fir?t  fermented,  so  that  the  particles  of  matter  would  be  more  or 
less  decomi)osed  and  broken  up  tine,  the  rain  would  wash  out  a 
large  amount  of  soluble  matter,  and  jirove  much  more  injurious 
th:in  if  the  manure  was  fn  sh  and  unftrn>ente<l. 

"That  is  an  argument,"  said  the  Deacon,  "against  your  i>hin  of 
piling  and  fermenting  manure." 

"Not  at  all,"  I  replied  ;  "it  is  a  strong  reason  for  not  letting 
manure  lie  under  the  eaves  of  an  tinspouled  iiuihling — esiM-cially 
guod  manure,  that  is  made  from  rich  food.  Tiie  lutter  tlie  manure, 
tlia  mor«  it  will  lose  fnmi  bad  management.  I  have  never 
recommended  any  one  to  pile  their  manure  where  it  would  receive 
from  ten  to  twenty  times  as  much  water  as  would  fall  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  heap." 

"  But  you  do  rocommeml  piling  manure  and  fcnnentingit  in  the 
open  air  and  keeping  the  top  tlat,  so  that  it  will  catch  all  tijc  rain, 
and  I  tliink  your  heaps  must  sometimes  get  pretty  well  soaked." 

"Soaking  the  heap  of  manure,"  I  replied,  "does  not  wash  out 
any  of  its  solulde  matter,  prorld) d  \o\x  carry  the  matter  no  further 
than  the  point  of  saturation.  The  water  may,  and  doubtless  docs, 
•wasli  out  the  soluble  matter  from  .wnie  port  ion.';  of  tlie  manure,  but 
if  the  water  do<>s  not  filter  through  the  heap,  but  is  all  absorbed  by 
the  manure,  there  is  no  lo.ss.  It  is  when  the  water  pa.s8es  through 
the  heap  that  it  runs  awa}'  with  our  soluble  nitrogenous  and  min- 
eral matter,  aud  with  any  ready  formed  ammonia  it  may  tind  in 
the  manure." 


How  to  keep  cows  tied  up  in  the  barn,  and  at  the  same  time 
save  all  the  urine,  is  one  of  the  most  ditlicult  proldems  I  have  to 
deal  with  in  the  management  of  manure  on  my  farm.  The  In-st 
plan  I  have  yet  trieti  is,  to  throw  horse-manure,  or  sheep-manure, 
back  of  the  cows,  where  it  will  receive  and  absorb  the  urine.  The 
plan  works  well,  but  it  is  a  question  of  labor,  and  the  answer  will 
depend  on  the  arrangement  of  the  buildings.  If  the  hor.-ies  are 
kept  near  the  cows,  it  will  be  little  trouble  to  throw  the  horse- 
litter,  every  day,  under  or  back  of  the  cows. 

In  my  own  case,  my  cows  are  kept  in  a  basement,  w  ith  a  tight 
barn-floor  overhead.  When  this  l)am-floor  is  occupie.l  with  sheep, 
we  keep  them  -well-bedded  with  straw,  and  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
throw  this  soiled  iiedding  down  to  the  cow-stable  below,  where  it 
is  used  to  absorb  the  urine  of  tlie  cows,  and  is  then  wheeled  out  to 
the  manure-iieap  in  the  yard. 

At  other  times,  we  use  dry  earth  as  an  absorbent. 


MAMKi;    0\     l»Ali:V-KAUMS.  Hf- 

C  n  A  r  T  E  R     XXII. 
MANUKK    ON    DAII^Y  FAHM8. 

Farms  (l«'v<)t»"(l  i>rin(ip:illy  lo  (l;iir\  mir  imi^Mii  to  In-  richer  and 
more  ppMliKlive  tliuu  furius  liri^rly  dtvolod  to  I  lie  priKluttiun  of 
grain. 

Nearly  all  tlie  proijuee  of  the  f.iriii  is  used  to  feed  Iheeows,  and 
little  is  sold  liiit  milk,  or  cheese,  or  Imtier. 

■NVheii  butter  alone  iss<ili,  there  ouirltl  to  be  no  hiss  of  ferlilizini; 
matter — iw  pure  butler  or  oil  contains  no  nilroueu,  phosphoric 
acid,  or  p<>Ui>li.  Il  contains  nuthin:;  but  carbonaceous  matter, 
which  can  be  removed  fn»m  the  farm  without  detriment. 

And  even  in  the  cxs<'  of  milk,  or  cheese,  the  advantajre  is  all  on 
the  side  of  the  dairyman,  as  compared  with  the  grain-grower.  A 
dollar's  worth  of  milk  or  ehei^e  removes  far  h  ss  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  than  a  didlar's  wortli  of  wheal  or  other 
grain.  Five  hundred  ll>s.  ^  f  cheese  contains  about  '2'}  lbs.  of  nitro- 
gen, and  20  lbs.  of  mineral  matter.  A  cow  that  would  make  this 
amoimt  of  cheese  would  eat  not  less  than  six  tons  of  hay,  or  its 
etjuivalenl  in  grass  or  grain,  in  a  year.  And  this  amount  of  food, 
8up|M)sing  it  to  be  half  clover  and  half  ordinary  meadow-hay, 
would  contain  240  lbs.  of  nitrogen  and  810  lbs.  of  mineral  matter. 
In  otlur  w(trds,  a  cow  eats  240  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  2."j  lbs.  are  re- 
moved in  the  cheese,  or  not  qui'e  lOi  i>er  cent,  and  of  mineral 
matter  not  quite  2i  per  cent  is  removed.  If  it  takes  three  acres 
to  produce  this  amount  of  food,  there  will  l)e  }:<J  lbs.  of  nitrogen 
removed  by  the  ehee.se,  per  acn\  while  IJO  bushels  of  wheat  would 
remove  in  the  grain  32  Ib.s.  of  nitnigen,  and  10  to  15  lbs.  in  the 
straw.  So  that  a  crop  of  wheat  removes  from  live  to  six  times  ns 
much  nitrogen  per  acre  as  a  crop  of  cheese  ;  and  the  removal  of 
mineral  matter  in  cheese  is  quite  insignificant  as  compared  with 
the  amount  removed  in  a  crop  (»f  wheat  or  corn.  If  our  grain- 
growing  fanners  can  keep  up  tlie  fertility  of  their  land,  as  they 
undoubtedly  cin,  the  dairymen  ought  to  be  making  theirs  richer 
and  mon>  productive  even.-  year. 

"All  that  is  quite  true,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and  y(t  from  what  I 
have  .seen  and  heard,  the  farms  in  the  dairy  districts,  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  show  any  rapiil  imprfivemenl.  In  fact,  we  hear  it  often 
alle^red  that  the  soil  is  becoming  exhausted  of  phosphates,  and  that 
the  quantity  and  qualify  of  tlie  gr.iss  is  deteriorating." 


102  TALKS    ON    MANUUES. 

"There  may  bt-  sdiik'  trutli  in  this,"  saiil  I,  "ami  yi't  I  will 
hazard  tlic  prediction  tiiat  in  no  other  hrancli  of  ajrriculture  shall 
we  witness  a  more  decitled  improvement  durimj  the  next  twenty- 
tive  3'ears  tiian  on  farms  larfr<-ly  devotetl  to  liie  dairy.  Grain-srrow- 
inp  farmers,  lii\e  our  frien'l  the  Deaeon,  here,  wlio  sells  his  grain 
and  never  lirimrs  liome  a  load  of  numure,  and  rarely  huys  even  a 
ton  of  bran  to  feed  to  stuck,  ami  wiio  sells  more  nr  less  hay,  must 
certainly  be  impoverishinj^  their  soils  of  pii()S|ihates  much  more 
rai)idly  than  lln-  dairyman  who  consumes  nearly  all  lii»  prmluce 
on  the  farm,  and  silla  little  except  milk,  butler,  cheese,  young 
calves,  and  old  cows." 

"Bones  hail  a  wonderful  eflfect,"  s;iid  tlu-  Doctor,  "on  the  old 
pastures  in  the  dairy  district  of  Cheshire  in  England." 

"  Undouittedly,"  1  replied,  "and  so  they  will  here,  and  so  would 
well-rollrd  maiuire.  There  is  noiliin^  in  this  fact  to  prove  that 
dairyin;;  specially  robs  the  .soil  of  |)!iosphales.  It  is  not  jtliosphates 
that  the  dairyman  needs  so  mu<h  as  riciier  manun-." 

"  What  would  you  add  to  the  manure  to  make  it  richer?"  asked 
tlie  Doctor. 

"  Nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,"  I  replied. 

"  But  how  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

•'  I  suppose,"  saiil  the  Doctor,  "  by  buying  guano  and  tlie  (Jernian 
potash  salts." 

"  Tliat  would  be  a  good  plan,"  said  I ;  "  but  I  would  di>  it  liy  buy- 
ing bran,  mill-feed,  brewers-grains,  malt-combs,  corn-meal,  oil- 
cake, or  whatever  was  best  and  cheap;  St  in  proportion  to  value. 
Bran  or  mill-feed  can  often  be  bouirht  at  a  price  at  wliirh  it  will  pay 
to  use  it  freely  fur  manure.  A  frw  tons  of  bran  wi>rk<-d  into  a 
pile  of  cow-dung  would  warm  it  uj)  an  I  add  considerably  to  its 
value.  It  would  supply  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid, and  p<)tash, 
in  which  ordinary  manure  is  d-ficient.  In  short,  it  would  convert 
poor  manure  into  rich  manure." 

"  Well,  well,"  exclaimed  the  Deacon, "  I  knew  yon  talked  of  mix- 
ing dried-blood  and  bone-dust  with  your  manure,  but  I  did  not 
think  you  would  advocate  anything  quite  so  extravai^ant  as  taking 
good,  wholesome  bran  and  spout-feed  and  throwing  it  on  to  yotir 
manure-pile." 

"  Why,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "we  do  it  every  day.  I  am  putting 
about  a  ton  of  spout-feed,  malt-combs  and  corn-meal  e.nch  week 
into  my  manure-pile,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  it  ferments  so 
reaiilyeven  in  the  winter.  It  convertsmy|)Oor  manure  into  good, 
rich,  well-decomposed  dung,  one  load  of  which  is  worth  three  load* 
of  your  long,  strawy  manure." 


MANUKK    ON'    I».\  1 1:  VIA  RMS.  103 

"  Do  you  not  wet  it  mul  Kt  it  frrmoiii  btfurc  puttiiiL,'  it  in  tlic 
pik-r" 

"No,  Dcat'on,"  sjjid  I,  "I  ft-fil  llu-  Itraii.  iiialt-coiiilts  and  corn- 
nu'jil  to  tlic  I'ow.s,  |iij;>,  ami  slu-i-p,  ami  K't  thnn  do  tlir  mixing. 
Tiny  work  it  up  lim-,  uioi>ti-n  it,  break  up  tin-  particlts,  iak«"  out 
tlif  carhonar'-ous  inalttr,  wliirli  \vt'  do  not  mcd  for  manure,  and 
llu-  cows  and  >iic'<-p  ami  lior><'s  nii.x  it  up  tlioroui^hly  with  the  liay, 
8tniw,  and  forn->talks,  Icavini;  liif  wlioU-  in  just  the  right  con- 
dition to  put  into  a  pile  to  ferment  or  to  apply  directly  to  the  land." 

"Oh  !  1  Hec,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  did  not  think  you  used  bran 
for  numurc." 

"  Vi-8,  I  do,  Deacon."  sjiid  I,  "  but  I  use  it  for  foo<l  first,  ami  this 
is  prf<is«ly  what  I  wnuld  ur;;e  you  ami  all  others  to  do.  I  feel 
sure  that  our  dairym*  (i  can  well  atrord  to  buy  more  niill-fe<'d, 
corn-m<'aI,  oil-cake,  <'tr.,  and  mix  it  with  tlieir  cow-dung — or 
rather,  let  the  cows  do  the  miximr" 

LETTER    FROM    THE    H(»X.   HARRIS    I.KW  I.-^. 

I  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Harris  Lewis,  the  well  known  dair}'mnii  of 
Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.,  asking  him  son)e  (pKstions  in  regard  to  mak- 
ing and  managing  manuri'  on  dairy  f.irms.  TIk-  (piestions  will  bo 
uinlerstood  from  the  answirs.     He  writes  as  folhtws: 

"  My  Friend  Harris. — This  being  the  first  leisure  time  I  liave  h.id 
since  ihe  receipt  of  your  last  letter,  1  devote  it  to  answering  your 
(piestittns : 

"  1st.  I  have  no  manure  cellar. 

"I  bed  my  cows  with  dry  bn.«swood  sawdust ,  s;ivi  ng  all  the 
liquid  manun-,  keeping  the  cows  clean,  and  the  stable  odors  down 
to  a  tolenible  degree.  This  bedding  breaks  ujj  the  tenacity  of  the 
cow-manure,  rendering  it  as  easy  to  pidveri/e  anil  manage  as  clear 
horsi^-manure.  I  would  s-iy  it  is  just  lovely  to  bed  cows  with  dry 
basswood  sjiwdust.  This  manure,  if  left  in  a  large  pile,  will  ferment 
and  burn  like  horse-manure  in  about  10  d.iys.  Hence  I  draw  it 
f)Ut  as  made  where  I  desire  to  use  it.  leaving  it  in  small  heaps,  con- 
venient to  spread. 

"  My  pigs  and  calves  arc  bedded  with  straw,  and  this  is  piled 
and  rotted  before  u«ing. 

"  I  use  most  of  my  manure  on  grass  land,  and  mangels,  some  on 
com  and  potatoes ;  but  it  pays  me  best,  when  in  proper  condition, 
to  apply  all  I  do  not  need  for  mangels,  on  meadow  and  pasture. 

"Forty  loads,  or  about  IS  to  00  cor  Is  is  a  homcpopathic  dose  for 
an  acre,  ,ind  this  f|uantily,  or  more,  a|)i>lied  once  in  three  years  to 
grass  land,  agrees  with  it  first  rate. 


104  TALKS    ON    M  ANT  RES. 

"  Tlir  laml  when-  I  i:r<>\v  inaiiLrrlsgcts  altoui  this  dosi-  c  very  yt'ar. 

"1  vvuulil  say  that  my  up-l:iiul  incatlows  have  bci-n  iiiowii  twice 
each  year  for  a  great  many  years. 

"  I  have  heen  using  refuse  salt  from  Syracuse,  on  my  mangels, 
at  the  rale  of  about  six  l)ushels  per  acre,  applieil  broadcast  in  two 
applications.  My  henmauure  is  jiulverizeil,  aiul  sifted  through  a 
eoiiimon  coal  sieve.  The  fine  I  use  for  duslini:  the  mangels  after 
they  have  been  singled  out,  and  the  lumps,  if  any,  are  used  to 
warm  up  the  red  peppers. 

"  1  have  sometimes  mi.xed  my  hen-manure  wilii  dry  muck,  in 
the  proportion  of  one  bushel  of  hen-manure  to  10  of  muck,  and 
received  a  profit  from  it  loo  big  to  tell  of,  on  corn,  and  on  mangels. 

"I  have  sprinkled  the  refuse  salt  on  my  cow-stable  floors  some- 
times, but  where  all  the  liipiid  is  saved,  I  tliink  we  have  salt  enough 
for  most  crops. 

"  I  have  abaiiilom  <1  tlie  use  of  plaster  on  my  pastures  for  the 
reason  that  milk  produced  on  green-clover  is  not  so  good  lus  that 
produced  on  the  gra.sses  proper.  I  use  all  the  wood  lushes  I  can  get, 
on  my  mangels  as  a  duster,  antl  consider  their  value  gn-ater  than 
the  ouniers  do  who  sell  tli«ni  to  me  for  15  cts.  a  bushel.  I  have 
never  used  much  linie,  and  have  not  received  the  ex|)ectcd  benefits 
from  it.s  use  so  far.  But  wood  a-'^hes  agree  with  my  land  as  well 
as  manure  does.  The  last  ((uestion  you  ask,  but  one,  is  this: 
'  What  is  the  usual  plan  of  managing  manure  in  the  dairy  districts  ?' 
The  usual  method  is  to  cut  holes  in  the  sides  of  the  stable,  al>out 
every  ten  feet  along  the  whole  length  of  the  barn  behind  ihecows, 
and  i>iteh  the  manure  out  through  these  holes,  under  the  eaves  of 
the  Itarn,  where  it  remains  tintil  too  much  in  the  way,  when  it  is 
drawn  out  and  commonly  applied  to  grass  land  in  lumps  as  big  as 
your  hea<l.  This  practice  is  getting  out  of  fasliion  a  little  now,  but 
nearly  one  half  of  all  the  c  )W-manuro  made  in  Herkimer  Co.  is 
lost,  wasted. 

"Your  last  question, 'What  improvement  would  you  suggest,' 
I  answer  by  saving  it  is  of  no  use  to  make  any  to  these  men,  it 
woidd  be  wasted  like  their  manure. 

"  The  market  value  of  manure  in  this  county  is  50  cts.  per  big 
load,  or  about  one  dollar  V)er  cord." 


"Th;it  is  a  capital  letter,"  .said  the  Deacon.  "  It  is  right  to  the 
point,  an  1  no  nonsi'nse  about  it." 

"  He  must  make  a  good  deal  of  manure."  said  the  Doctor, 
"  \o   be   able   to   u.se  40  loads  to  tlie  acre  on  his  meadows  ::nd 


MANUUK    <>N    K.VIKY-FaUMS.  105 

pastures  oiicc  in  llirrc  ycjirs,  and  the  same  (luunlity  ivory  year  ou 
his  tit'Iil  of  laaii^tl-wurwl." 

"Thai  is  iircii.M.-ly  wlial  1  havi-  bcfn  contcuiliuj;  for,"  I  rci)Iifcl ; 
"  till'  dairymen  r  m  iii:ikc  iurp'  i|uantilifs  of  manurr  if  liu-y  makran 
cfr)rt  to  do  it,  ami  tlicir  farms  oiijjiil  to  In-  roiistantly  imitroviu;^. 
Two  (Toiw  of  hay  on  the  siimc  meadow,  each  year,  will  enalde  a 
farin<T  to  keep  a  lame  herd  of  ctjws,  and  make  u  j:real  (juaiitily  of 
manure — and  when  you  have  once  cot  the  manure,  there  is  no  dif- 
ficulty in  keeping  up  and  increasin/?  the  productiveness  of  the  land." 

HOW    TO    MAKE    MOKE    AND    BETTEK    MANL'KE    ON    DAIRY 

FARMS. 

"  You  arc  riirht,"  s:iid  the  Doctor,  "  in  sjiyini:  that  there  is  no  dif- 
ficulty in  keeping  up  and  in»Tcasinir  the  proiluctivenessof  our  dairy 
farms,  when  you  have  once  got  plenty  of  manure — but  the  dillicully 
is  to  get  a  good  supply  (»f  manure  to  start  with." 

This  is  true,  and  it  is  comparatively  slow  work  to  bring  up  a 
f:inii,  unless  you  have  plenty  of  ca|)ital  and  can  buy  all  the  artificial 
manure  you  want.  By  the  free  use  «)f  artificial  manures,  you  could 
make  a  farm  very  productive  in  one  or  two  years.  But  the  slower 
ami  cheaper  method  will  \>c  the  one  adopted  by  most  of  ourj'oung 
and  intelligent  dairymen.  Few  «if  us  are  born  with  silver  spoons 
in  our  mouths.  We  have  to  earn  our  money  before  we  can  spend  it, 
ami  we  are  none  the  worse  fr)r  the  di-;<ipline. 

Suppose  a  yixmg  man  h:is  a  farm  of  KM)  acn-s,  dcvototl  prim  ipally 
to  dairying.  Some  of  the  land  lies  on  a  <reek  or  river,  while  other 
portions  are  higher  and  drier.  In  the  s|)ring  of  the  year,  a  stream 
of  water  runs  through  a  part  of  the  farm  from  the  adjoining  bills 
down  to  the  cri'ck  or  river.  The  fann  now  sujiports  ten  head  of 
cows,  tlirce  horses,  half  a  dozen  slieop,  and  a  few  piirs.  The  land  is 
wortii  ITo  per  acre,  but  does  not  pay  the  interest  on  half  that  sum. 
It  is  getting  worse  instead  of  better.  Weeds  are  multiplying,  and 
the  more  valuable  grasses  are  dying  out.     What  is  to  be  done? 

In  the  first  place,  U-t  it  be  distinctly  umlerslood  that  the  land  is 
not  exhausted.  As  I  have  before  .said,  the  productiveness  of  a  farm 
does  not  depend  so  much  on  the  absolute  amount  of  plant-food 
which  the  soil  contains,  as  on  the  amount  of  plant-food  which  is 
immediati'ly  availal)le  for  the  use  of  the  plants.  An  acre  of  land 
that  produces  half  a  ton  of  hay,  may  contain  as  much  plant-food 
as  an  acre  that  produces  three  tons  of  hay.  In  the  one  ca.se  the 
plant-fooil  is  locked  \ip  in  such  a  form  that  the  crops  cannot  absorb 
it,  wiiile  in  the  other  it  is  in  an  available  condition.  I  have  no 
doubt  there  are  fields  on  the  farm  I  am  alluding  to,  that  contain 


106  TALKS    OV    MAKI'RES. 

3,000  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  an  oqiial  amount  of  phosphoric 
acid,  per  acre,  in  the  first  six  inches  of  the  surface  soil.  This 
is  as  much  nitrogen  as  is  contained  in  100  tons  of  meadov;- 
hay,  and  more  phosphoric  acid  than  is  contained  in  350  tons  of 
meadow-hay.  Tliese  are  the  two  inirredients  on  which  the  fertility 
of  our  farms  mainly  depend.  And  yet  tliere  arc  soils  containing 
this  quantity  of  plant-food  that  do  not  produce  more  than  half 
a  ton  of  hay  per  acre. 

In  some  field.s,  or  parts  of  fields,  the  land  is  wet  and  the  plants 
cannot  take  up  the  food,  even  while  an  abundance  of  it  is  witiiin 
reach.  Tiie  remedy  in  this  case  is  under-draining.  On  otiicr 
fields,  the  plant-food  is  locked  up  in  insolul)le  corahinations.  In 
this  case  we  mu.st  |)low  up  the  soil,  pulverize  it,  and  exjuise  it  to  the 
oxygen  of  the  atmosiiherc.  We  must  treat  the  soil  as  my  mother 
used  to  tell  me  to  treat  my  collee,  when  I  comjdained  that  it  was 
not  sweet  enough.  "  I  put  plenty  of  sugjir  in,"  she  said,  "and  if 
you  will  stir  it  up,  the  coffee  will  be  sweeter."  The  sugar  lay  un- 
dissolved at  the  bottom  of  the  cup;  and  so  it  is  with  many  of  our 
soils.  Tliere  is  plenty  of  plant-food  in  them,  but  it  needs  stirring 
up.  They  contain,  it  u)ay  l)0,  ;!,ik;0  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  other 
plant-food  in  still  greater  pniportion,  and  we  are  only  getting  a 
crop  tliat  contains  18  lbs.  of  nitrogen  a  year,  and  of  this  probably 
tl)e  rain  supplies  9  lbs.  Let  us  stir  up  the  soil  and  see  if 
we  cannot  set  100  lbs.  of  this  3,000  Ib.s.  of  nitrogen  free,  and 
get  three  tons  of  hay  pe-r  acre  instead  of  half  a  ton.  There  arc 
men  who  own  a  large  amount  of  valuable  property  in  vacant  city 
lots,  who  do  not  get  enough  from  them  to  i)ay  their  taxes.  If  they 
would  sell  half  of  them,  and  put  buildings  on  the  other  half,  they 
might  soon  have  a  haudsoine  income.  And  so  it  is  with  many 
farmers.  Tiicy  have  the  elements  of  100  Ions  of  hay  lying  dor- 
m<>nt  in  every  acre  of  their  land,  while  they  are  content  to  receive 
half  a  ton  a  year.  They  have  j^rojierty  enough,  but  it  is  unproduc 
tive,  wiiile  they  pay  high  tuxes  for  tlie  ])rivilege  of  Imlding  it,  and 
high  wages  for  the  pleasure  of  hoanhng  two  or  three  hired  men. 

We  have,  saj-,  3,000  lbs.  of  nitrogen  locked  up  in  each  acre 
of  our  soil,  and  wc  get  8  or  10  lbs.  every  year  in  rain  and 
dew,  and  yet,  practically,  all  that  we  want,  to  make  our  farms 
highly  productive,  is  100  ll)s.  of  nitrogen  per  acre  per  annum. 
And  furthermore,  it  should  be  remembered,  that  to  keep  our  farms 
rich,  after  we  have  once  got  them  rich,  it  is  not  neces.sary  to  de- 
velojic  this  amount  of  nitrogen  from  the  soil  every  year.  In  the 
rase  of  clover-hay,  the  entire  loss  of  nitrogen  in  tlie  animal  and  in 
the  milk  would  not  exceed  15  per  cent,  so  that,  when  wc  feed  out 


MANURK    ON    DAIKY-K.V  KMS  1(>7 

100  lbs.  of  nitro!,'tu,  Wf  have-  80  lbs.  left  in  the  iiiaiiurr.  \N> 
want  lo  dcvil<)|K-  100  liis.  of  nitrogen  iu  the  soil,  to  i-nablr  us 
to  raisL-  u  gooii  irop  to  slurt  with,  and  when  this  is  once  done,  an 
annual  di'Vi'lopinent  of  I't  lbs.  jkt  am-  in  adilition  to  llif  manure, 
WDuld  keep  up  the  produetivenet-s  of  the  soil.  Is  it  not  worth 
while,  therefore,  to  make  an  earnest  etlort  to  f;el  started? — to  get 
100  Ib.s.  of  nitr  )gen  in  the  most  available  eonditictn  in  the  soil? 

As  I  said  before,  this  is  praetieally  all  that  is  needeil  to  give  us 
large  crops.  This  amount  of  nitrogen  repre.-enls  about  twelve  tons 
of  average  bani-\ard  manure — that  is  lo  sjiy,  twelve  tons  ctnitains 
100  Ib.s.  of  nitrogen.  But  in  iwiinl  of  fa<t  it  is  not  in  an  imme- 
diately availaitle  condition.  It  would  probably  take  at  least  two 
years  before  all  the  nitrogen  it  eontuins  would  be  given  up  to  the 
plants.  We  want,  therefore,  in  order  to  give  us  a  good  start, 
24  tons  of  bani-yard  manure  on  every  acre-  of  land.  How  to 
get  this  is  the  great  prol)lem  which  our  young  dairy  farmer  has  to 
solve.  In  the  grain-growim::  districts  we  get  it  in  i)art  by  summer- 
fallowing,  and  I  believe  the  dairyman  miirht  often  do  the  same 
thing  with  advantage.  A  thorough  summer-fallow  would  ii(»t 
only  (lean  the  laml,  but  would  render  some  of  (he  latent  i)lant- 
footl  available.  This  will  be  organized  in  the  next  crop,  and  when 
the  dair}'man  has  once  got  the  plant-lood,  he  has  deeidedlj'  the 
advantage  over  the  grain-growing  farmer  in  his  ability  to  retain  it. 
lie  need  not  lose  over  16  i>er  cent  a  year  of  nitrogen,  and  not  one 
]^e^  cent  "f  the  ether  eleiuenta  of  jiiiut-fi^Kl. 

The  land  lying  on  the  borders  of  the  creek  could  be  greatly 
benefited  by  cutting  surface  ditches  t  >  let  otf  the  water;  and  later, 
probably  it  will  be  found  that  a  few  underdrains  can  be  put  in  to 
advantage.  These  alluvial  soils  on  thi'  borders  of  creeks  and  rivers 
are  grand  sources  of  nitrogen  and  otli«  r  jdant-food.  I  do  not  know 
the  fact,  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  meadows  which  Harris 
Lewis  mows  twice  a  year,  are  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  are 
perhap;?  flooded  in  the  s|)ring.  But,  be  this  as  it  ma}',  there  is  a 
fielil  on  the  farm  I  am  alluding  to,  lying  on  the  creek,  which  now 
produces  a  bountiful  growth  of  weeds,  rushes,  and  coarse  gras.scs, 
which  I  am  sure  could  easily  be  made  to  produce  great  crops  of 
hay.  Tlie  creek  overflows  in  the  spring,  and  the  water  lies  on 
some  of  the  lower  parts  of  tlie  fl<*ld  until  it  is  evaporited.  A  few 
ditches  would  allow  all  the  water  to  pass  off",  and  this  alone  would 
be  a  great  im])rovement.  If  the  field  was  flooded  in  May  or  June, 
ami  thoroughly  cultivated  and  harrowed,  the  sod  would  be  suffl 
ciently  rotted  to  plow  again  in  August.  Then  a  thorough  harrow- 
ing, rolling,  and  cultivating,  would  make  it  as  mellow  as  a  garden, 


lOS  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

and  it  could  be  sei-drd  down  witli  liiiiotliy  and  oilier  good  grassoa 
the  list  of  August,  or  be;,'iiiniiiu'  of  SfpU'inbcr,  and  produec  agood 
crop  of  hay  the  next  year.  Or,  if  thought  hetler,  it  niiglit  b.-sown 
tf)  rye  and  seeded  down  witli  it.  In  either  ease  tlie  land  would  be 
greatly  improved,  and  would  be  a  productive  meadow  or  pasture 
for  years  to  come — or  until  our  young  dairyman  could  afford  to 
give  it  one  of  Harris  Lewis'  "  homceopathie  "  doses  of  40  loads  of 
good  manure  per  :icre.  lie  would  then  be  able  to  cut  two  crops 
of  hay  a  year — and  such  hay  !     But  we  are  anticipating. 

Tiiat  stream  wliich  runs  through  tin-  farm  in  the  spring,  and 
then  dries  up,  could  be  made  to  irrigate  several  uiri's  of  the  land 
adjnininu'.  Tiiis  would  doul)le,  or  tril)le,  or  cpiadruple,  ("  hold  on," 
sail!  tiie  Deacon,)  the  crops  of  grass  as  far  as  tlie  water  readied. 
The  Deacon  does  not  seem  to  credit  this  statement;  but  I  have 
seen  wonderful  ed'ei  ts  proiluced  l)y  such  a  plan. 

What  I  am  endeavoring  to  show,  is,  that  these  and  similar  means 
will  give  us  larger  crops  of  hay  and  grass,  and  these  in  turn  will 
enable  us  to  keep  more  cows,  and  make  more  manure,  and  the 
manure  will  enable  us  to  grow  larger  crops  on  other  portions  of 
tile  farm. 

I  .'iin  .•iware  tliat  m.iny  will  object  to  plowing  up  old  grass  land, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  be  mis  inderstood  on  this  point.  If  a  f.irmcr 
has  a  meadow  tliat  will  pnnluce  two  or  three  tons  of  h:iv,  or  support 
a  cow,  to  tlie  acre,  it  would  be  folly  to  lireak  it  up.  It  is  already 
doing  all,  or  nearly  all,  that  can  be  asked  or  desired.  But  suppose 
you  have  a  piece  of  naturally  good  land  that  d  les  not  pn^luce  a 
ton  of  hay  per  acre,  or  pasture  a  cow  <jn  three  acres,  if  such  land 
can  be  plowed  without  great  difBculty,  I  would  break  it  up  as 
early  in  the  fall  as  possible,  and  summer-fallow  it  thoroiiirhly,  :md 
seed  it  down  again,  heavily,  with  gr.iss  seeds  the  next  August.  If 
the  land  does  not  need  draininir,  it  will  not  fori'et  this  treatment 
for  njany  years,  and  it  will  be  the  farmer's  own  fault  if  it  ever  nins 
down  again. 

In  this  country,  where  wa-ies  are  so  liiirh,  we  must  raise  large 
crops  per  acre,  or  not  rai.se  any.  Where  lanil  is  cheap,  it  may  some- 
times pay  to  compel  a  cow  to  travel  over  tliree  or  four  acres  to  get 
her  food,  but  we  cannot  afford  to  raise  our  hay  in  half  ton  crops; 
il  costs  too  much  to  harvest  them.  High  wages,  hlu'li  taxes,  and 
high-priced  land,  nocessitate  high  farminir;  and  bylii-jh  farming,  I 
mean  growing  lar^'e  croi>s  every  year,  and  on  every  portion  of  the 
farm  ;  but  high  wages  and  loir-priad  hiud i\o  not  neccssarilv  demand 
hiirli  fanning.  If  the  land  is  chea])  we  can  sutler  it  lo  lie  idle  with- 
out much  loss.     But  when  we  raise  crops,  whether  on  high-priced 


MAMKi;  <»v   i)Aii:v-F  \i;ms.  lOU 

laiul  or  on  low-priciil  Iaii<l,  we  imisl  raisr  nooilcnips,  or  the  cxpnise 
of  rultivutinj;  an>l  liarvoliii;;  lluiii  will  ral  op  all  llic  prolits  lii 
the  iluirv  <iistru Is,  1  bi liivc  laml,  in  proportion  to  ils  tiualily  and 
Ufarniss  to  market, «-oinniamls  a  lii::litT  price- than  lam',  in  tlic  grain- 
growini;  di."  trie  til.  lli-nci-  it  follows  llial  liiyh  tanning  should  be 
Uu-  aim  of  tin-  Annrican  dairvman. 

1  am  told  that  tlnn-  art-  farm-  in  the  dairy  ilistricts  of  this  State 
worth  fn)m  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  tifty  dollars  pr  r  a«n-, 
on  which  a  row  to  ftiur  acres  for  the  year  is  considered  a  good 
average.  At  a  meeting  of  tlie  Little  Falls  Farmers'  Cluli,  the  Hon. 
Josiali  Shull.  gave  a  statement  of  the  receipts  and  expenses  of  his 
farn>  of  Sli  aens.  The  farm  cost  $1:50  per  acre.  He  ke|»t  twetity 
cows,  ;.nd  fatted  one  for  beef.     The  receipts  w«re  as  follows: 

Twonty  cows  yielding  S,:«7  lbs.  of  chcc«c,  nt  ab.ml  Hi  cents 

|KT  pound fl,lS<5.I?3 

Incn-iibc  wu  beef  vow 40  <I0 

Calvrs 4^ 

Total  roccipU $1,271.^3 

KXrKNSES. 

Bov,  nix  inonttis  and  l><>ard $'i><0.00 

Mail  l>y  till-  ye:ir,  mid  Imard :t('i<l.iKI 

Carting  niiik  und  niunufactiiring  ehcese 'il.VOO 

Tutiil  i<.!<l  of  lat)t.r fT.'iS.UO 

TUB  OTHEK   EXI'ENSKS   WEKE  : 

Fertilizers,  plant?,  etc $  I'^-OO 

llorse-slio.inir  and  other  repairs  of  farmini;  impU-monU,  (  wliich 

is  certJiiiily  i>r«tty  chi-ap. ) .'jfl.OO 

Wear  and  tear  of  inn>li'in»nts Jli.fHt 

Averajre  repairs  of  pluee  and  buililini^s 175.00 

Avcrace  depreciation  and  interest  on  stock ls<i.(tO 

Insiininco 4.00 

Ineidlntul^,  (also  pretty  low,) ■>""0 

><i-JO.OO 

Total  receipts ?1  ['il ■•■^'^■ 

Total  expenses l,H7.').0O. 

Tins  statement,  it  is  wid,  the  Clnb  considered  a  very  fair  estimate. 

Now,  hero  is  a  farm  costing  |;10,.")n.~>,  the  receipts  from  which, 
saying  nothing  :  bout  interest,  are  less  than  the  expenses.  And  if 
you  add  two  cents  per  pound  more  to  the  price  of  the  cheese,  the 
l>ro(it  would  still  be  only  about  f")0  per  year.  The  trouble  is  not 
so  much  in  the  low  price  of  cbee*e,  as  in  thr  low  product  per  acre. 
I  know  some  grain-growing  farmers  who  have  done  no  better  tl^an 
this  for  a  few  years  past. 

Mr.  Shnll  places  the  annual  depreciation  and  interest  on  stock  at 
f  IW),  eijual  to  nearly  one-seventh  of  the  to'al  receipts  of  the  f.irm. 
It  would  pay  the  wages  and  board  of  another  man  for  six  montlia 


110  TALKS    ON    MA  VIRES. 

Can  not  it  lie  avoiileil  ?  Good  iK-cf  is  rclutively  miicii  hiirhcr  in 
this  Sliite  tiian  '^oinl  ciit'cse.  Some  of  the  dairy  authorities  tell  us 
that  cheese  is  the  cheai)est  animal  food  in  the  world,  while  beef  Ih 
the  dearest.  Why.  then,  should  our  dairymen  eonline  their  atten- 
tion to  the  production  of  the  cheapest  of  farm  |)rodu(ts,  and  no<;- 
loct  almt)st  entirely  the  production  of  the  dearest?  If  l»eef  is  hiirh 
and  cheese  low,  wliy  not  raisi-  more  beef  ?  (Jn  low-priced  land  it 
may  be  profitable  to  raise  and  keep  cows  solely  for  the  prcHluction 
of  cheese,  and  when  the  cows  are  no  longer  protituble  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  sacrifice  them — to  throw  them  aside  us  we  do  a  worn-out 
machine.  And  in  similar  circumstances  we  may  bo  able  to  keep 
sheep  .solely  J"or  their  wool,  but  on  hijrh-priced  land  we  can  not 
afford  to  keep  sheep  merely  for  their  wool.  We  must  a<lopt  a 
higher  .system  of  farming  and  fee  ling,  and  keep  slu-ep  that  will 
give  us  wool,  lambs,  and  mutton.  In  parts  of  South  America, 
where  land  costM  nothimr,  cattle  can  be  kei)t  for  their  bones,  tallow, 
and  hides,  but  where  food  is  costly  we  must  make  belter  use 
of  it.  A  cow  is  a  machine  for  converting  vegetable  food  into  veal, 
butter,  cheese,  and  beef.  The  first  cost  of  the  machine,  if  a  good 
one,  is  considerable — say  f  10().  This  machine  has  to  be  kept  run- 
ning inght  and  d:iy,  summer  and  winter,  week  days  and  Sundays. 
If  we  were  running  a  steam-flourini:  mill  that  could  never  lie 
allowed  to  stop,  we  sliould  be  careful  to  lay  in  a  irood  supply  of 
coal  and  also  have  plenty  of  grain  on  hand  to  gritnl,  so  that  the 
mill  would  never  have  to  run  empty.  No  sensible  man  would 
keep  up  steam  merely  to  run  the  mill.  lie  would  want  to  grind 
all  the  time,  and  as  much  as  possible;  and  yet  coal  is  a  nmch 
cheaper  source  of  power  than  the  hay  and  com  with  which  we 
run  our  milk-producing  machine.  How  often  is  the  latter  allowe<l 
to  run  empty?  The  m.achine  is  runinng  night  and  day — must  run, 
but  is  it  alwavs  running  to  advantage?  Do  we  furnish  fuel 
enough  to  en.dde  it  to  do  full  work,  or  only  little  more  than  enough 
to  run  the  maihincry  ? 

"  Wliat  has  all  tliis  to  do  with  makinir  manure  on  dairy  farms?" 
o.sked  the   Deacon;  "you  are  wandering  from  tin-  point." 

"  I  hope  not ;  lam  trying  to  show  that  L'ood  feeding  will  pay 
better  than  poor  fecdin.: — and  lu-tter  food  means  better  manure." 

I  estimate  that  it  takes  from  15  to  IH  lbs.  of  ordinary  hay  per 
day  to  nm  this  cow-machine,  which  we  have  been  talking  al)OUt, 
even  when  kept  warm  and  comfortable;  and  if  exposed  to  cold 
storms,  probably  not  less  than  20  lbs.  of  hay  a  day,  or  its 
ccpiivalcnt,  and  this  merely  to  keep  the  machine  nmning.  witlnnit 
doing  any  work.     It  requires  this  to  keep  the  cow  alive  and  to  pre- 


MAMUi:    UN    ItAIKY-lAKMS.  lU 

Vint  licr  l«»!iiig  tlt-iili.  If  iidl  !*ui>|ili(<l  w  illi  tin-  n<uii>itt'  umuuiit 
of  f<MMl  for  tliis  |>iir|M>s«.',  slii'  will  takf  rin>ii:;h  fat  aiul  llcsli  fmin 
hrr  own  Ixnly  to  iiiaki-  up  tin-  (Irriciciirv ;  and  if  slic  laiinul  i^it  il, 
the  inat-liiiie  will  stop — in  otla-r  wdhIs,  iIr-  cow  will  die. 

\Vc  liuvi>,  tlion,  a  uiirliin*-  tliut  cosU>  siiy  $100;  tlial  will  last  vn 
an  avt-ra'^e  eiijlil  yi'an*;  that  requires  careful  uiana^eiucnt ;  that 
Hitist  have  constant  wulchin^,  or  it  will  he  liahlc  lo  get  out  of 
order,  and  that  requiri-s*,  merely  to  keejt  it  runnini;;,  say  20  Ilis. 
t>f  hay  |KT  day.  Now  ,  what  dt»  we  gel  in  nlurn?  It  we  furnish 
only  20  Ills,  of  hay  |>er  ilay  we  get—  itothiug  e.xeepi  niaiuirc. 
If  w«'  furnisli  2">  ll»s.  of  hay  per  day,  or  its  eipiivalent,  we  get, 
s;iy  half  a  fniund  of  cheese  i>er  day.  If  we  furnish  ;J0  Ihs.  we 
got  one  |>uund  of  cheese  jmt  day,  or  ytw  lbs.  a  year.  We  may 
not  gel  the  one  pound  of  eiieese  every  ilay  in  the  year;  sometimes 
the  cow,  in.stead  of  givins;  milk,  is  furnishing  food  for  her  endtryo 
calf,  oi  slorin-.;  U|i  fat  an  i  tiesh ;  and  this  fat  and  llebh  will  Ik-  u.sed 
by  and  by  to  proiluce  milk.  Hut  it  all  comes  from  tin-  ftxxl  eaten 
by  the  cow;  and  is  e(jii.d  lo  one  pound  of  chees*-  per  day  for  IJO 
lbs.  of  hay  or  its  «'<piivalent  consumed;  20  lbs.  of  hay  gives 
us  nothing;  2.")  lbs.  of  hay  givi-s  us  half  a  pound  of  cluvse,  or 
40  lbs.  of  cheese  from  one  ton  of  hay ;  30  lbs.  irives  us  one 
pound,  or  OOi  lbs.  of  clu-^-se  from  (»ne  ton  of  h.-iy ;  35  lbs. 
gives  us  \\  lbs.,  or  b.V  ,  lbs.  of  cheese  to  one  Ion  of  hay;  40 
ll)s.  gives  us  2  lbs  of  cheese,  or  KX)  lbs.  of  cheese  from  one  ton 
<»f  hiy;  45  Ins.  gives  us  21  lbs.  of  cheese,  or  111  lbs.  of  cheese 
from  one  ton  of  hay;  50  lbs.  jrives  us  3  lbs.  of  cheese,  or  120  lbs.  of 
cheese  fn»m  one  ton  of  hay. 

On  tliis  bjisis,  one  ton  of  hay,  in  exr^ss  of  the  mnount  rrqi/inil  to 
hrp  up  the  an'mul  hint  and  8u«!ti'n  the  ritiU  ftiiictiong,  gives  us  200 
lbs.  of  cheese.  The  point  I  wish  to  illustrite  by  these  figures, 
which  are  of  course  hypothetic  d,  is,  that  it  is  exceedingly  desiral)le 
to  get  animals  that  will  cat,  di.'est,  and  assimil.ite  a  large  amount  of 
food,  over  and  above  that  re(iuin-d  lo  keep  up  the  beat  of  the 
body  and  sustain  the  vital  functions.  When  a  cow  eats  only  25 
lbs.  of  bay  a  day,  it  retiuires  one  ton  of  hay  to  produce  40 
lbs.  of  cheese.  But  if  we  could  induce  her  to  eat,  digest,  and 
a.ssimilate  50  lbs.  a  day,  one  Ion  would  produce  120  1I)S.  of 
cheese.  If  a  cow  eats  33  lbs.  of  hay  per  day,  or  its  equivalent 
in  grass,  it  will  reijuire  four  acres  of  land,  with  a  productive 
capa'  ity  ecjual  lo  1^  tons  of  hay  per  aero,  to  keep  her  a  year. 
Such  a  cow,  according  to  the  figures  given  above,  will  produce 
401  i  lbs.  of  cheese  a  year,  or  its  equivalent  in  growth  A 
farm  of  yo  acres,  on  this  basis,  would  support  20  cows,  yielding, 


112  TALKS    ON    MANUUES. 

Bay  8,000  1I)S.  of  cheese.  Increase  the  i)roiluctivc  power  of  the 
farm  one  half,  (I  liope  the  Deacon  has  not  gone  to  sleep),  and  keep 
20  cows  thai  will  eat  half  as  much  again  food,  and  we  should  then 
get  21,G0O  lbs.  of  cheese.  If  cheese  is  worth  15  cents  per  lb., 
a  farm  of  HO  acres,  jjroducing  IJ  tons  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  jht 
acre,  and  siipporling  20  cows,  would  give  us  a,  gross  return  of 
$1,204.50.  The  same  farm  so  improved  as  to  produce  2^  tons  of 
hay  or  its  etjuivalent,  per  acre — led  to  20  (■«)ws  c<tp.ibk  of  eating, 
digesting,  und  itsst'iiiil it.ng  it  -would  give  u  gross  return  of  $3,240. 

Ill  presenting  these  fii,'ures,  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  a 
visionary.  I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  to  get  a  cow  to  produce 
\i  ll)s.  <jf  clieese  a  day  tliroughout  the  whole  year.  But  I  do 
tiiink  it  (juite  possible  to  so  breed  and  feed  a  cow  that  she  will  pro- 
duce 3  lbs.  of  cheese  per  day,  or  its  eqniviknt  in  veal,  tleah, 
or  faU  We  freciuently  have  cows  that  produce  3  lbs.  of 
cheese  a  day  for  sever.d  wt-eks;  and  a  cow  can  be  sr  fed  that  the 
will  produce  3  ll>s.  of  cheese  a  day  without  losing  weight. 
And  if  she  can  extract  this  aincmnt  of  matter  out  of  the  food  for  a 
part  of  the  year,  wiiy  can  not  she  do  so  for  the  w  hole  year?  Are  the 
powers  of  digestion  weaker  in  the  fall  and  winter  than  in  spring 
anil  summery  If  not,  we  unipiestionably  sustain  great  loss  by 
allowing  this  digestive  power  to  run  to  waste.  Tins  digestive 
power  costs  us  20  lbs.  of  hay  a  day.  We  can  ill  affonl  to  let  it 
lie  dormant.  But  the  Deacon  will  tell  me  that  the  cows  arc 
allowed  all  the  food  they  will  eat,  winter  and  summer.  Tlien  we 
must,  if  they  have  digestive  power  to  spare,  endeavor  to  persamle 
them  tA  eat  more.  If  they  eat  as  much  hay  or  grass  as  their 
stomachs  ore  capable  of  holding,  we  must  endeavor  to  give  them 
richer  hay  or  grass.  Not  one  farmer  in  a  thousand  seems  tr)  appre- 
ciate the  advantage  of  having  hay  or  grass  containing  a  hi'.'h  per- 
centage of  nutriment.  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  a  cow  eat- 
ing six  tons  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  in  a  year,  w  «ndd  produce  400 
lbs.  of  cheese,  worth  $00.  While  a  cow  capable  of  eating, 
digesting,  and  turning  to  goo('  account,  nine  t(»n9  of  hay,  or  its 
ec|uivalent,  would  produce  1,090  lbs.  of  cheese,  or  its  equivalent 
Id  other  products,  worth  $102. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  interrujit  the  gentleman,"  said  the  Deacon  with 
mock  gravity. 

"Then  pray  don't,"  said  I  ;  "  I  will  not  detain  you  long,  and  the 
subject  is  one  which  ought  to  interest  you  and  every  othc  r  famior 
who  keeps  his  cows  on  ])Oor  grass  in  summer,  and  coni-stalks  and 
straw  in  winter." 

1  was  going  to  sav,  u  lit  11  ilie  nia.dii   interrupted  me,  that   the 


MAMKK  ON   n aii:y-kai:ms.  11.'? 

stomach  of  a  cow  may  not  allow  licr  to  cat  nine  tons  of  hay  a  year, 
but  ll  will  allow  liiT  to  cat  six  tons;  ami  if  these  six  tons  contain 
as  >niu  h  nutriment  as  iho  nine  tons,  what  is  the  real  tliHerenee  in 
iLs  vahie  *  Unlinarily  we  slioul  1  i)rol)ahly  timatc  the  one  at 
fit)  per  ton,  anil  the  ntlrr  at  ifl.").  Hut  accnnliut;  to  the  altove 
licures,  oiu-  is  worth  |l<i  per  i<mi  ant!  the  other  ^21.  To  pt  rich 
i:nis.>.,  tlien-forr,  shoultl  he  liie  aim  of  th<'  American  dairyman.  I 
hope  ilic  Deacon  begins  to  see  what  connection  this  lias  witli  a 
luruc  pile  of  rich  maiiure. 

1  do  not  mean  merely  a  heavy  frrowth  of  srniss,  hut  jrrass  con- 
tjiining  a  hi^'li  |Hrccnt;i;;e  of  nutriment.  Our  lonir  wintirs  and 
heavy  snows  an-  a  ^n-at  advantage  to  us  in  this  n'sjx'ct.  Our 
jirass  in  the  sprinu',  after  its  h>n;^  rest,  oupht  to  i-tart  up  like  aspara- 
gus, and,  un»l<r  the  omanizinjr  inthnnce  of  our  clear  skies,  and 
jMiwerful  sun,  ou^hl  to  hv  e.vi-eidinyly  nutritious.  C'ompanilively 
few  farmers,  however,  live  up  to  their  priv  ieires  in  this  respect. 
Our  climate  is  bett»r  tiian  our  farmim:,  tlie  sim  richer  than  our 
nci:le<'tcd  soil.  Emjland  may  be  able  to  produce  more  j,'rass  jkt 
acru  in  a  y&ir  than  we  can,  but  we  ouiiht  to  produce  richer  gras.s, 
an<l,  conwqurntly,  more  clicest^  to  a  cow.  And  I  believe,  in  fact, 
that  .sucli  is  often  the  C3\sc.  Tiie  f'nj;lisli  dairvuKin  has  tlie  advan- 
tacre  of  a  longer  season  of  growth.  We  have  a  .sJiorter  sea^^on  but 
abrii^hler  sun,  and  if  wc  do  not  have  riclier  uT'iiS  it  is  due  to  the 
want  of  draining,  chan  culture,  and  manu. Iiig.  The  <»bject  of 
American  dairymen  should  b( ,  not  oid_\  to  cotain  more  gra.>;s  per 
acre,  but  to  increase  its  nutriment  in  a  <:iV(  n  bulk.  If  we  could 
increase  it  one-half,  making  six  tons  ••'.j-.cii  to  nine  tons,  wc  have 
shown  that  it  is  nearly  three  times  as  vaaiable.  Whether  this  can 
be  dime,  I  have  not  now  lime  to  consiicr;  but  at  any  rate  if  your 
land  produces  as  many  weeds  as  do  some  fields  on  my  farm,  not 
to  say  the  Deacon's,  and  if  the  plant-food  that  these  weeds  absorb, 
could  be  oriranized  by  nutritious  gra.sscs,  this  alone  would  do  a 
good  deal  towanls  accompli>hing  the  object.  Whether  this  can  be 
done  or  not,  we  want  cows  that  can  eat  and  turn  to  good  account 
as  much  food  p'T  annum  as  ^s  contained  in  ni'-e  tons  of  orcMnary 
nieadow-hay  ;  and  we  want  this  nutriment  in  a  bulk  not  exceeding 
six  tons  of  hay.  If  ponttOAf,  we  should  get  this  amount  of  nutri- 
ment in  grass  or  hay.  But  if  we  can  not  d(;  this,  wc  must  feed 
eiumijk  concentrated  food  to  bring  it  up  to  the  desired  standard. 


"  But  will  it  pay  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon  •,  "  I  have  not  much  faith 
in  buying  feed.    A  farnjcr  ought  to  raise  o7erything  he  fer-ds  ojt  ' 


114  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"As  a  rule,  this  may  be  true,"  I  replied,  "lint  tliere  arc  many 
exceptions.  I  am  tryins^  to  show  that  it  will  often  pay  a  dairyman 
well  to  buy  feed  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphates,  so  as  to  make 
rich  manure,  and  give  bim  a  start.  After  he  gets  bis  land  ricb, 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  keejjing  up  its  productiveness 

"  Now,  I  nave  said — and  the  figures,  if  anything,  are  too  low — that 
if  a  cow,  c:iting  six  tons  of  bay,  or  its  equivalent,  a  year,  produces 
400  ll)s.  of  cheese,  a  cow  cai)ablc  of  eating,  digesting,  and  turning 
to  good  account  nine  tons  of  bay,  or  its  eciuivalent,  a  year,  would 
produce  1,090  llis.  of  cheese,  or  its  eiiuivaient  in  other  products." 

1  would  like  to  say  much  more  on  this  subjeit,  but  I  hope 
enough  has  been  saitl  to  show  liiat  tiiere  is  great  advantage  in 
feeding  ricb  food,  even  so  far  as  the  production  of  milk  or  beef  is 
concerned;  and  if  this  is  the  case,  then  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
making  rich  manure  on  a  dairy  farm. 

And  I  am  deliglited  to  know  tliat  many  farmei-s  in  the  dairy 
districts  are  purchasing  more  and  more  bran  and  meal  every  year. 
Ta'iing  milk,  and  beef,  and  manure  all  into  the  account,  I  feel  sure 
tliat  it  will  be  found  higidy  |»rofitable  ;  but  you  must  have  good 
cows — cows  that  can  turn  their  extra  food  to  good  account. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  diseuss  the  merits  of  the  ditrerent  ])reed3 
of  cows.  All  I  wish  to  show  is,  that  to  make  better  manure,  we 
must  use  richer  food ;  and  to  feed  this  to  advantage,  we  must  have 
animals  that  can  turn  a  large  amount  of  food,  over  and  aitove  the 
amount  required  to  sustain  the  vital  functions,  into  milk,  flesh,  etc. 

"  You  do  not  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  a  well-bred  cow 
makes  any  richer  manure  than  a  common  cow  ?" 

Of  course  not;  but  to  make  ricb  manure,  we  must  feed  well ; 
and  we  can  not  afford  to  feed  well  unless  we  have  good  animals. 

HOW  TO    SAVE    AND    APPLY    MANURE   OX  A    DATRT-FARM. 

We  can  not  go  into  details  on  this  subject.  The  truth  is,  there 
are  several  good  methods  of  saving  manure,  and  whicii  is  best  de- 
pends entirely  on  circumstances.  The  real  point  is  to  save  the 
urine,  and  keep  the  cow-stable  clean  and  sweet.  There  are  three 
prominent  methods  adopted : 

1st.  To  throw  all  tlie  liquid  and  solid  excrements  Into  n  manurf- 
cellar  uuderneath  the  cow-stable.  In  this  cellar,  dry  swamp- 
muck,  dry  earlli,  or  other  absorbent  material,  is  mixed  with  the 
manure  in  sufficient  (pianlity  to  keep  down  ofTcnsive  odors.  A 
little  dry  eartii  or  muck  is  also  used  in  the  stable,  scattering  it 
twice  a  day  in  the  gutters  and  under  the  Idnd  legs  of  the  cows. 
WIut:'  this  is  carried  out,  it  has  many  and  decided  advantagea 


MAMRK    ON    DAIUY-FAUMS.  115 

2*1.  To  wliool  or  tlirow  o.it  the  solid  parts  of  the  manure,  and 
to  have  a  dniin  for  farryinj:  tlic  litiuiil  into  a  tank,  wiiere  it  can 
be  punjprd  on  to  tlie  heap  of  manure  in  the  yard.  Where  many 
horses  or  sheep  are  kept,  and  only  a  few  eows,  this  plan  can  often 
be  used  to  advantai,'e,  as  the  iieaj)  of  manure  in  the  yard,  consist 
ini^  of  li<irse-manure,  sh<ei)-manure,  and  a  small  por.iou  of  cow- 
dunir,  will  he  ahle  to  ahs(»rl)  all  the  urine  of  the  cows. 

3U  To  use  sutlicicnt  licddini:  to  al)>>orl)  all  the  urine  in  the  stn- 
hh'.  In  my  own  case,  as  I  liave  sjiid  hefore,  we  usually  chall'  all 
our  straw  and  stalks.  The  oris  are  used  for  heddinj;;,  and  we  also 
use  a  little  dry  earth — or,  to  he  more  exact,  I  use  it  when  I  attend 
to  the  matter  myself,  but  have  always  found  more  or  less  trouble 
in  gtltinc;  tlie  work  done  pro|H'rly,  unless  I  give  it  personal  alien 
tion.  To  use  "dirt''  to  keep  the  stJible  clean,  is. not  a  pojtular  plan 
in  this  neii;h!)orhoo<l.  Where  there  is  an  abundance  of  straw,  an(l 
csiHtially  if  cut  into  chalf,  the  easiest  way  to  keep  the  staiih- clean, 
and  the  cows  comfortaiile,  is  to  use  enoutrh  of  this  chalhd  straw 
to  absorb  ali  the  li(|uid.  ("lean  out  the  stable  twice  u  day,  and 
wheel  the  manure  directly  to  the  heap,  and  spread  it. 


In  n>gnrd  lo  the  application  of  manure  on  a  dairy-farm,  we  have 
seen  what  .Harris  Lewis  does  with  his.  1  also  wrote  to  T.  L.  llar- 
ison,  Esq.,  of  Si.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.  ;  and  knowing  that  he  is 
not  only  a  xcry  intelligent  farmer  and  breeder,  but  also  one  ot  our 
best  agricultural  writers,  J  •i'?ked  him  if  he  had  written  anything 
on  the  .subject  of  manures. 

"  Si.  Lawrence  Co.,"  .sjud  the  Deacon,  "produces  capital  graFS, 
oats,  and  barley,  but  is,  i  should  think,  too  far  n<irlh  for  winter 
wheat;  but  what  did   Mr    Ilarison   say?" — Ilere  is  his  letter: 

"  I  never  wrote  anything  about  manure.  Catch  me  at  it!  Nor 
do  I  know  anything  about  the  niana','ement  ot  barn-yard  manure 
worth  telling.  My  own  practice  is  dictated  quite  as  much  by  con- 
veiiience  as  by  c<msiderations  of  economy." 

"  G<»od,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  he  writes  like  a  sensible  man." 

"  My  rotation,"  he  continues,  "  is  ?uch  that  the  bulk  of  tlio  ma- 
nure made  Is  applied  to  'vhc  crop  ;  that  is,  to  my  hoed  crops,  corn, 
potatoes,  and  roots,  in  the  second  year. 

"The  manure  from  the  stables  is  thrown  or  wheeled  out  under 
the  sheds  adjoining,  and  as  fast  as  it  becomes  so  large  a  quantity 
as  to  be  in  the  way,  or  whenever  there  is  an  opportunit}',  \l  is 
hauled  out  to  the  field,  where  it  is  to  be  used,  and  put  in  large 
piles.     It  is  turned  once,  if  possible,  in  the  spring,  and  then  spread 


116  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

"The  quantity  api)liccl,  is,  as  near  as  may  lie,  25  loads  per  acre; 
but  as  we  use  a  great  deal  of  straw,  we  haul  out  30  loads,  and  es- 
timate that  in  the  spring  it  will  be  al)out  25  loads. 

"  If  we  have  any  more  (:.nd  occasionally  we  have  100  loads  over), 
we  pile  it  near  the  barn,  and  turn  it  once  or  twice  during  the  sum- 
mer, ard  use  it  as  seems  most  profitable — sometimes  to  top-dress 
an  old  grass-field,  that  for  some  reason  we  prefer  not  to  break  for 
another  year.  Sometimes  it  goes  on  a  piece  of  fall  wheat,  and 
sometimes  is  kept  over  for  a  barley  lieUl  the  following  spring,  and 
harrowed  in  just  before  sowing. 

"  I  should  spread  the  manure  as  it  comes  from  the  sheds,  instead 
of  piling  it,  but  the  great  quantity  of  snow  we  usually  have,  has 
always  seemed  to  be  an  insupcralde  obstacle.  It  is  an  advantage 
to  pile  it,  and  to  give  it  one  turning,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
piles  made  in  colil  weather  freeze  through,  and  they  take  a  pro- 
vokingly  long  time  to  thaw  out  in  the  spring.  I  never  found  ma- 
nure piled  out  of  doors  to  get  too  much  water  from  rain. 

"I  have  given  up  using  gypsum,  except  a  little  in  the  stables,  be- 
cause the  clover  grows  too  stn)ng  without  it,  and  so  long  as  this 
is  the  case,  I  do  not  need  gypsum.  But  I  sometimes  have  a  piece 
of  oats  or  barley  that  stands  still,  and  looks  sick,  and  a  dose  of 
gypsum  helps  it  v<ry  much." 

"  That  is  a  fact  worth  remembering,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"I  use  some  superphosphate,"  continues  Mr.  Ilarison,  "and 
some  ground  bones  on  my  turnips.  We  also  use  superphosphate 
on  oats,  barley,  and  wheat  (about  200  lbs.  per  acre),  and  find  it 
pays.  Last  year,  our  estimate  was,  on  10  acres  of  oats,  comparing 
with  a  strip  in  the  middle,  left  for  the  purpose,  that  the  200  lbs.  of 
superphosphate  increased  the  crop  15  bushels  per  acre,  and  gave  a 
gain  in  quality.  If  was  the  "  3Ianhatfan,"  which  has  about  three  i)er 
cent  ammonia,  and  seven  to  eight  per  cent  soluble  phosphoric  acid. 

"  My  rotation,  which  I  stick  to  as  close  as  I  can,  is:  1,  oats;  2, 
corn,  and  potatoes,  and  roots  ;  3,  barley  or  spring  wheat ;  4,  5,  and 
G,  grass  (clover  or  timothy,  with  a  little  mixture  occasionally). 

"  I  am  trying  to  get  to  4,  fall  wheat,  but  it  is  mighty  risky." 


"  That  is  a  very  sensible  letter,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  he  raises  more  grain  than  I  supposed  was  generally  the 
ease  in  the  dairy  districts  ;  and  the  fact  that  his  clover  is  so  heavy 
that  he  does  not  need  plaster,  indicates  that  his  land  is  rich." 

It  merely  confirms  what  I  have  said  all  along,  and  that  is,  that 
the  dairymen,  if  they  will  feed  their  animals  lilierally,  and  culti 


MANAGEMENT    OF    MA  NUKES    ON    GKAIN-FARMS.         117 

viite  their  soil  thoroujilily,  can  soon  have  |>ru(liulivc  farms.  There 
are  very  ffw  of  us  in  tiiis  section  wlio  eaii  make  manure  enough 
to  c:ive  all  our  corn,  potatoes,  anil  n»ots,  25  loads  of  rotted  manure 
per  acre,  and  have  some  to  sjiure. 

In  the  sprini;  of  1877,  Mr.  llarison  wrote:  "  1  have  been  hauling 
out  manure  all  winter  as  fast  as  made,  and  putting  it  on  tlie  land. 
At  lirst  we  spread  it;  but  wlien  deep  snows  eame,  we  put  it  in 
small  heaps.  The  lii-ld  looks  as  if  there  had  been  a  grain  crop  on 
it  left  uncut." 

"  That  last  remark,"  s;iid  the  Doctor,  "  indicates  that  the  manure 
looks  more  like  straw  than  well-rotted  dung,  ami  is  an  argument 
in  favor  of  ytnir  plan  of  piling  the  manure  in  the  yard  or  field,  in- 
stead of  spreading  it  on  the  laud,  or  putting  it  in  small  heaps." 


CHAPTER      XXIII. 

MANAGEMENT    OF    MANURES    ON    GRAIN-FARMS. 

"  I  am  surprised  to  find,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  Mr.  llarison, 
living  as  he  does  in  the  great  grass  and  dairy  district  of  this  State, 
shouhl  raise  so  much  grain.  He  has  nearly  as  large  a  proportion 
of  his  land  under  the  plow  as  some  of  the  best  wheat-growers  of 
Western  New  York." 

This  remark  of  the  Deacon  is  right  to  the  point.  The  truth  is, 
that  some  of  our  best  wheat-growers  are  plowing  less  land,  and 
are  raising  more  grass,  and  keeping  more  stock  ;  and  some  of  the 
dairj-men,  though  not  keeping  less  stock,  are  ph)wing  more  land. 
The  better  farmers  of  both  sections  are  approaching  each  other. 

At  all  events,  it  is  certain  that  the  wheat  growers  will  keep 
more  stock.  I  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Geo.  Geddes,  of  Onondaga  Co., 
N.  Y.,  well  known  as  a  large  wheat-grower,  and  as  a  life-long  ad- 
vocate of  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  our  farms  by  growing  clover. 
He  replies  as  follows  : 

"  I  regret  that  I  have  not  time  to  give  your  letter  the  considcrA- 
tion  it  deserves.  The  subject  you  have  undertaken  is  truly  a  dif- 
ficult one.  The  circumstances  of  a  grain-raiser  and  a  dairyman 
are  so  unlike,  that  their  views  in  recrard  to  the  treatment  of  the 
manure  produced  on  the  farm  would  vary  as  greatly  as  the  lines 
of  farming  thev  follow. 


118  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  The  grain-grower  has  straw  in  excess  ;  he  tries  hard  to  got  it 
into  such  form  that  he  can  draw  it  to  his  tielils,  and  get  it  at  work, 
at  the  least  cost  in  labor.  So  he  covers  his  hani-yards  deep  with 
straw,  after  each  snow-storm,  and  gets  his  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses, 
to  trample  it  imder  foot ;  and  he  makes  his  pigs  convert  all  he  can 
int<j  such  form  that  it  will  do  to  ajtply  it  to  his  pastures,  etc.,  in 
winter  or  early  spring. 

"  A  load  of  such  manure  is  large,  perliaps,  Itut  of  no  very  great 
value,  as  compared  witli  well-rotted  stahlc-manure  from  grain-fed 
horses  ;  l)ut  it  is  as  good  as  much  that  I  have  seen  ilrawn  from 
city  stables,  and  carried  far,  to  restore  the  worn  out  hay-fields  on 
the  shores  of  the  North  River— in  fact,  (juite  like  it. 

"The  dai'*ynian,  generally,  has  but  little  straw,  and  his  nuinurc 
is  mostly  dung  of  cow.s,  worth  much  more,  per  cord,  than  the 
straw-litter  of  the  gniin-growcrs. 

"Tiie  grain-grower  will  want  no  shtds  for  keejjing  olT  the  rain, 
but,  rather,  he  will  desire  more  water  than  will  fall  on  an  open 
yard.  The  milkman  will  wish  to  protect  his  cow-dimg  from  all 
rains,  or  even  snows;  so  he  is  a  great  advocate  of  manure-shed.s. 
These  two  clas.ses  of  farmers  will  adopt  tpiile  unlike  methods  of 
applying  tbeir  manure  to  (  rops. 

'"1  have  cited  these  two  da.sses  of  farmers,  simjily  to  show  the 
difficulty  of  making  any  universal  laws  in  regard  to  the  treatment 
and  use  of  barn-yard  manure.     *     *     * 

"  I  think  you  and  I  are  fully  agreed  in  ngard  to  the  farm  being 
the  true  source  of  the  manure  that  is  to  make  the  land  grow  bet- 
ter witli  u.se,  and  still  produce  croiis — perhaps  you  will  go  with 
me  so  far  as  to  say,  tlie  greater  the  crojjs,  the  more  manure  they 
will  make — and  the  more  manurr',  the  larger  the  crops. 

"  Now,  I  object  to  any  special  farming,  when  applied  to  a  whole 
great  division  of  country,  such  as  merely  raising  grain,  or  devoted 
entirely  to  dairyini:. 

"I  saw  at  Rome,  N.  T.,  these  two  leading  branches  of  New 
York  farming  united  on  the  ITunlington  tract  of  1,:500  acres. 
Three  or  four  farms  (T  forget  which)  had  separate  and  distinct 
management,  conducted  by  different  families,  but  each  had  a  dairy 
coml)ined  with  the  raisins  of  large  crops  of  gnin,  such  as  wheat, 
corn,  oats,  etc.  These  grain-crops,  with  suitable  areas  of  meadow 
and  pasture,  sustained  the  dairy,  and  the  cows  converted  much  of 
the  grain,  and  all  of  the  forage,  into  maiuire.  Thus  was  com- 
bined, to  mutual  adv.intnge.  these  two  important  branches  of  New 
York  fanning.  Wheat  ami  cheese  to  sell,  and  constant  iniprovc- 
rueiit  in  crops. 


MANAtiKMENT    OK    M.V.\L1:ES    OX    (iU.VIN-KAKMS.         119 

"  III  <mr  Dwii  case,  slictp  huvi"  hn-n  coinbincil  witli  i^niiii  raising. 
So  wc  liavf  sttKl  wool,  wliial,  and  harlcy,  ami,  in  all  my  life,  not 
tivc  tons  of  hay.  t'lovrr,  yon  know,  lias  licrn  onr  jjjrral  forai^e- 
cTop.  We  have  winlcretl  our  sheep  mostly  on  clover-hay,  having 
some  tiniothy  mixed  w  iih  it,  that  was  necessarily  cut  (to  make  into 
hay  with  the  medium,  or  early  clover,)  when  it  was  but  gra.ss.  We 
have  fed  such  hay  to  our  cows  and  horses,  and  liave  usually 
worked  into  manure  the  corn-stalks  of  ai)out  20  acres  of  ;iood 
corn,  eacii  winter,  ami  we  have  worked  all  th«'  straw  into  shape  to 
apply  as  m.-uiure  thai  we  could,  spreadin-;  it  thickly  on  pa.'>tures 
and  such  other  fields  as  were  c<(nvenient.  Some  straw  we  have 
sold,  mostly  to  pa|Kr-makers." 


"That,"  s;iid  the  Deacon,  "is  gom],  old  fashioned  farmini;. 
Plenty  of  straw  for  heddin;.',  and  n:«»od  clover  and  timothy-hay  for 
feed,  with  wool,  wheat,  and  barley  to  sell.  No  Udk  about  oil- 
cake, malt-combs,  and  manirels  ;  nothiuL'  about  superiihosi)liate, 
guano,  or  swam|>-muck." 

Mr.  Geddes  and  Mr.  Johnston  are  both  representative  farmers; 
both  are  large  wheat-giowcrs ;  both  ke(  p  their  land  clean  and 
thoroughly  cultivated  ;  both  use  gypsum  freely  ;  both  rai.se  large 
crops  of  clover  and  timothy;  both  keep  sheep,  and  yet  they  rep- 
n-sent  two  entirely  dillerent  systems  of  farming.  One  is  the  great 
advocate  of  clover;  the  other  is  the  great  advocate  of  manure. 

I  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Geddes,  asking  his  opinion  as  to  the  best 
time  to  plow  under  clover  for  wheal.     He  replied  as  follows: 

"  Plow  under  the  clover  when  it  is  at  full  growth.  But  your 
qur^stion  can  much  better  be  answered  at  the  end  of  a  long,  free 
talk,  w  hich  can  be;-t  be  had  here.  I  have  many  times  asked  you 
to  come  here,  not  to  see  fine  farming,  for  we  have  none  to  show, 
but  to  see  land  th:it  has  been  used  to  test  the  effects  of  clover  for 
nearly  70  years.  On  the  ground,  I  could  talk  to  a  willing  auditor 
long,  if  not  wisely.  I  am  getting  tired  of  being  misunderstood, 
and  of  having  my  statements  doubted  when  I  talk  about  clover 
as  the  great  renovator  of  land.  You  preach  agricultural  truth, 
and  the  facts  you  would  gather  in  this  neighborhood  are  worth 
your  knowing,  and  worth  giving  to  the  world.  So  come  here  and 
gjither  some  facts  al)out  clover.  All  that  I  shall  trj-  to  prove  to 
you  is,  that  the  fact  tliat  clover  and  plaster  are  by  far  the  cheapest 
manures  that  can  be  had  for  our  lands,  lias  been  demonstrated  by 
many  farmei-s  beyond  a  doubt — so  much  cheaper  than  bani  yard 
manure  that  the  mere  loading  of  and  spreading  costs  more  than 


120  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

the  plaster  aud  clover.     Do  not  (luoto  me  as  saying  this,  but  come 
anil  see  the  farms  hereabouts,  and  talk  with  our  farmers." 


Of  course  I  went,  and  had  a  t'ai)ital  lime.  Mr.  Greddes  has  a 
magnificent  farm  of  about  4()0  acres,  some  four  miles  from 
Syracuse.  It  is  in  high  condition,  and  is  continually  imjJrovinL', 
and  tliis  is  due  to  growing  large  and  frequent  crops  of  clover,  and 
to  good,  dtvp  plowing,  iind  cUitn  <uid  thonmgh  culture. 

We  drove  round  among  the  fanners.  "  Here  is  a  man,"  said 
Mr.  G.,  "  who  run  in  debt  |4.1  per  acre  for  his  farm.  He  has  edu- 
cated his  family,  paid  otF  his  debt,  and  reports  his  net  profits  at 
from  ^,000  to  |i'2,/)00  a  year  on  a  farm  of  'JO  acres;  and  this  i.s 
due  to  clover.  You  see  he  is  l)uilding  a  new  barn,  and  that  does 
not  look  as  though  his  land  was  running  down  under  the  system." 
The  ne.\t  farmer  we  came  to  was  also  putting  up  a  new  barn,  and 
another  farmer  was  enlarging  an  old  one.  "  Now,  these  fanners 
have  never  paid  a  dollar  for  manure  of  any  kind  except  plaster, 
and  their  lands  ccrtaiidv  do  not  deteriorate." 


From  Syracuse,  I  went  to  Geneva,  to  sec  our  old  friend  John 
Johnston.  "Why  di  1  you  not  tell  me  you  were  coming?"  he 
said.  "  I  would  have  met  you  at  the  cars.  But  I  am  right  glad 
to  see  you.  I  want  to  show  you  my  wheat,  where  I  put  on  250 
lbs.  of  guano  per  acre  last  fall.  People  here  don't  know  that  I 
used  it,  and  you  must  not  mention  it.     It  is  grand." 

I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  .saw  a  finer  piece  of  wheat.  It  was  the 
Diehl  variety,  .sown  14th  September,  at  the  rate  of  \\  linshels  per 
acre.  It  was  quite  thick  enough.  One  brt-adth  of  the  drill  was 
sown  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre.  This  is  earlier.  "But," 
said  Mr.  J.,  "the  other  will  have  larger  heads,  and  will  yield 
more."  After  examining  the  wheat,  we  went  to  look  at  the  piles 
of  muck  and  manure  in  the  barn-yard,  and  from  these  to  a  splen- 
did crop  of  timothy.  "It  will  go  2J  tons  of  hay  per  acre,"  said 
Mr.  J.,  "and  now  look  at  this  adjoining  field.  It  is  just  as  good 
land  naturally,  and  there  is  merely  a  fence  between,  and  yet  the 
gnss  and  clover  are  so  poor  as  hardly  to  be  worth  cutting." 

"  Wiiat  makes  the  difference?"  I  asked. 

Mr.  Johnston,  emphatically,  "  Manure." 

The  jloor  fi'dd  did  not  belong  to  him! 

Mr.  .Johnston's  farm  was  originally  a  cold,  wet,  clayey  soil.  Mr. 
Geddcs'  land  di  1  not  need  draining,  or  very  little.  Of  course,  land 
that  needs  draining,  is  richer  after  it  is  drained,  than  land  that  is 


MAKAGENfKNT    OF    MANURES    ON    ORAIN-FARMS,        l2l 

naturally  <lr:iiiir(l.  And  tlii)iii;h  Mr.  .lolinston  w.is  ahvaj's  a  pmd 
fariiKT,  yt't  hi-  s;iys  lit-  "  uevi-r  urn  le  inoiicy  until  he  roinnit'iictMl  lo 
dniin."  Tlie  ai-(uinulaU>l  fi-rtilily  in  the  land  could  llji  n  be  made 
uvailalile  by  good  tillage,  and  from  tiiat  day  to  this,  his  land  has 
been  growing  rielier  and  riihtr.  And,  in  faet,  the  same  is  true  of 
Mr.  (Jedtles'  farm.  It  is  rieln  r  land  to-day  than  when  first  jilowed, 
while  there  is  one  lield  that  for  seventy  years  has  had  no  manure 
applied  to  it,  e.vcept  pliLster.  How  is  this  to  be  explaini'd?  Mr. 
Goddes  would  s;iy  it  was  due  t4)  clover  and  plaster.  But  this  docs 
not  fully  satisfj'  thow  who  claim,  (an<l  truly),  that  "alway.s  taking 
out  of  the  meal-tub  and  never  putting  in,  soon  comes  to  the  bot- 
tom." The  chiver  can  add  notliing  to  the  land,  that  it  did  not  get 
from  the  .soil,  except  orj^ini'-  matter  obtaini'd  from  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  i)l!Lster  furnis'ies  little  or  nothing  except  lime  and  sulphu- 
ric acid  There  are  all  tin-  other  iiigrcdic:its  of  plant-food  to  be 
accfMmted  for — phosplioric  acid,  potash,  soda,  niairnesia,  etc.  A 
crop  of  clover,  or  corn,  or  wh<'at,  or  barU'v,  or  oats,  will  not  come 
to  perfection  unless  every  one  of  tliesf  elemcnt.s  is  present  in  the 
soil  in  an  available  condition.  Mr.  (leddes  has  not  funiishe(l  a 
single  ounce  of  any  one  of  them. 

"  Where  «lo  they  come  from  ?" 

I  answer,  from  Ow  ffi'l  .7.*/^.  There  i«  probably  enough  of  these 
elements  in  the  s«)il  to  last  ten  thousan<l  years;  and  if  we  return  to 
the  soil  all  the  str.iw,  chaff,  and  br.in,  and  si-ll  nothing  but  fine  flour, 
meat,  butter,  etc.,  t'.iere  is  jirobably  enough  to  last  a  million  years, 
and  you  and  I  need  not  trouble  ourselves  with  speculations  as  to 
what  will  hai>pen  .'.fter  that  time.  Nearly  all  our  soils  are  practi- 
cally ine.\haustil)le.  But  of  course  these  elements  are  not  in  an 
available  condition.  If  they  were,  t'.ie  rains  would  wash  them  all 
into  the  ocean.  They  are  rendered  available  by  a  kind  of  fer'nen- 
tation.  A  manure-lieap  packed  as  hard  and  solid  as  a  rock  would 
not  deca}';  but  break  it  up,  make  it  fine,  turn  it  occasif)nally  so  as 
to  expose  it  to  the  atmosphere,  and  witli  the  proper  degree  of  mois- 
ture and  heat  it  will  ferment  rapidly,  and  all  its  elements  will 
soon  become  available  food  for  plants.  Nothing  has  been  created 
by  the  process.  It  was  all  there.  We  have  simply  made  it  availa- 
bk.  So  it  is  with  the  s^)il.  Break  it  up,  make  it  fine,  turn  it 
occasionally,  expose  it  to  the  atmosphere,  and  the  elements  it  con- 
t;iins  become  available. 

I  do  not  think  that  Mr.  Gcddes'  land  is  any  better,  naturally, 

tlian  yours  or  mine.     We  can  all  raise  fair  crops  by  cultivating 

the  land  thoroughly,  and  by  never  allowing  a  weed  to  grow.     On 

Mr.  Lawes'  experimental  wheat-field,  the  plot  that  has  never  re- 

6 


122  TALKS    ON    MANUnES. 

ct'ivc'd  a  particle  of  mamiro,  proiluccs  every  year  an  average  of 
about  15  bushels  per  acre.  Aud  tlie  whole  crop  is  removed — grain, 
straw,  and  chalf.  Nothing  is  returned.  And  that  the  land  is  not 
remarkably  rich,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  farms  in 
the  neighborhood,  produce,  under  the  ordinary  system  of  manage- 
ment, but  little  more  wheat,  once  in  four  or  five  years  than  is 
ra.i^v<\  every  year  on  this  experiment  il  plot  without  any  manure. 

"Why?  Because  these  farmers  d<;  not  half  work  their  land,  and 
the  manure  they  make  is  little  l»etter  than  rotten  straw.  Mr.  Lawcs' 
wheat-field  is  plowed  twice  every  year,  and  when  I  was  there,  the 
crop  was  hand-hoed  two  or  tliree  times  in  the  spring.  Not  a  weed 
is  suffered  to  grow.     And  this  is  all  there  is  to  it. 

Now,  of  course,  instead  of  r.iising  15  bushels  of  wheat  every  year, 
it  is  a  good  deal  better  to  raise  a  crop  of  30  bushels  every  other 
year,  and  still  better  to  raise  45  bushels  every  third  year.  And  it 
is  here  that  clover  comes  to  our  aid.  It  will  enable  us  to  do  this 
very  thing,  aiul  the  land  runs  no  greater  risk  of  exhaustion  than 
Mr.  Lawes'  uninanurcd  wheat  crop. 


Mr.  Geddes  and  I  do  not  dilFeras  much  as  you  suppose.  In  fact, 
I  do  not  believe  that  we  differ  at  all.  lie  has  for  years  been  an 
earnest  advocate  for  growing  clover  as  a  renovating  crop.  He 
think.s  it  by  far  the  cheapest  manure  that  can  be  ol)tained  in  this 
section.  I  agree  with  him  most  fully  in  all  these  particulars.  He 
formed  his  opinion  from  experience  and  observation.  I  derived 
mine  from  the  Rothamsted  experiments.  And  the  more  I  see  of 
practic;U  farming,  the  more  am  I  satisfied  of  their  truth.  Clover 
is,  unquestionabl}',  the  groat  renovating  crop  of  American  agricul- 
ture. A  crop  of  clover,  e((ual  to  two  tons  of  hay,  when  plowed 
under,  will  furnish  more  annnonia  to  the  soil  than  twenty  tons  of 
straw-made  manure,  drawn  out  fresh  and  wet  in  the  spring,  or 
than  twelve  tons  of  our  ordinary  barn-yard  manure.  No  wonder 
Mr.  Geddes  and  other  intelligent  farmers  recommend  plowing 
under  clover  as  manure.  I  differ  from  them  in  no  respect  except 
this:  that  it  is  not  absolutely  essential  to  plow  clover  under  in  the 
gi'een  state  in  order  to  get  its  fertilizing  effect;  but,  if  made  into 
hay,  and  this  hay  is  fed  to  animals,  and  all  the  manure  carefully 
saved,  and  relumed  to  the  land,  there  need  be  comparatively  little 
loss.  The  animals  will  seldom  take  out  more  than  from  five  to 
ten  per  cent  of  all  tlie  nitrogen  furnisheil  in  tlie  food — and  less  still 
of  mineral  matter.  I  advocate  growing  all  the  clover  you  possibl}' 
can — so  does  !Mr.  Geddes.  lie  says,  jilow  it  under  for  manure.  So 
say  I — unless  you  can  make  more  from  feeding  out  the  clover-bay, 


MANAGKMENT    OK    M.VVUUK8    ON    (.  IIVI V-KAUMS.        123 

than  will  \r.\y  yuii  for  wailiiiir  a  yi'ar,  ami  for  fiiltiiiij;  and  curin;; 
the  clover  and  ilrawini:  liack  tlic  niaiuiri'.  If  you  i)lo\v  it 
under,  you  are  sure  of  it.  There  is  no  loss.  In  feedini;  it  out, 
you  may  lose  more  or  less  from  leaching,  and  injurious  feruienla- 
tion.  But,  of  eourse,  you  need  not  lose  anythin^r,  except  the  little 
that  is  retained  in  the  tlesh,  or  wool,  or  milk,  of  the  animals.  As 
thin<y  are  on  many  farms,  it  is  perhaps  best  to  plow  under  the 
clover  for  manure  at  once.  As  thin<^  oui^ht  to  be,  it  is  a  most 
wasteful  practice.  If  you  know  how  to  feed  out  the  hay  to  advan- 
tai^e,  and  tik<'  pains  to  save  tlie  manure  (and  to  atld  to  its  value  by 
feedinir  oil-cake,  liran,  etc.,  with  it),  it  is  far  better  to  mow  your 
clover,  once  for  hay,  and  once  for  seed,  than  to  plow  it  under. 
Buy  oil-cake  and  l)r.in  with  the  money  j;ot  from  the  seed,  and 
growing  clover-seed  will  not  injure  the  laud. 


I  am  irlad  to  hear  that  Mr.  Ceildes  occasionally  sells  straw.  I 
once  sold  l~)  tons  of  straw  to  tiie  piper-makers  for  fl^O,  they 
drawing  it  themselves,  and  some  of  my  neighbors  criticised  me 
severely  for  doing  so.  It  is  not  considered  an  orthodox  practice. 
I  do  not  advocate  selling  straw  as  a  rule;  but,  if  you  have  more 
than  you  can  use  to  advantage,  and  it  is  l)ringiiig  a  good  price, 
sell  part  of  the  straw  and  buy  bran,  oil-cake,  etc.,  with  the  money. 
To  feed  nothing  but  straw  to  stock  is  poor  economy;  and  to  rot 
it  down  for  manure  is  no  better.  Straw  itsr-lf  is  not  worth  $3.00 
a  ton  for  manure;  and  as  one  ton  of  straw,  spread  in  an  open 
yard  to  rot,  will  make,  in  spring,  about  four  tons  of  so-called 
manure,  and  if  it  costs  50  cents  a  ton  to  draw  out  and  spread  it, 
the  straw,  even  at  this  comparatively  high  estimate  of  its  value, 
nets  you,  when  fed  out  alone,  or  rotted  down,  only  f  1.00  a  ton. 

I  had  about  30  tons  of  straw.  Fed  out  alone  or  rotted  down  it 
would  make  120  tons  of  miuuro.  After  deducting  the  expense  of 
hauling,  and  spreading,  it  nets  me  on  the  land,  |30.  Xow  S'll 
half  the  straw  for  $150,  and  buy  three  tons  of  oil-cake  to  feed 
out  with  the  other  half,  and  you  would  have  about  seventy  tons  of 
manure.  The  manure  from  the  fifteen  tons  of  straw  is  worth,  say 
$45,  and  from  the  three  tons  of  oil-cake,  $60,  or  $105.  It  will 
cost  $35  to  draw  and  spread  it,  and  will  thus  net  on  the  land,  $70. 
So  far  as  the  manure  question  is  concerned,  therefore,  it  is  far 
better  to  sell  half  your  straw,  and  buy  oil-cake  with  the  money, 
than  to  feed  it  out  alone — and  I  think  it  is  also  far  better  for  the 
stock.  Of  course,  it  would  bo  better  for  the  farm,  not  to  sell  any 
of  the  straw,  and  to  buy  si.\  tons  of  oil-cake  to  feed  out  with  it; 


124  Talks  on  manures. 

but  those  of  us  wlio  are  short  of  capital,  must  be  content  to  bring 
up  our  land  l)y  slow  degrees. 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand,"  wrote  Mr.  Geddes,  "  what  you 
mean,  when  you  sa^'  that  a  ton  of  straw*  will  make,  in  the  spring 
of  the  year,  four  tons  of  so-called  manure.  If  you  had  said  that 
four  tons  of  straw  would  make  one  ton  of  manure,  I  should  have 
thouuht  nothing  of  it.  But  how  you  can  turn  one  ton  of  straw 
into  four  tons  of  anything  that  anybody  will  call  manure,  I  do 
not  see.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  Hon.  Lewis  F.  Allen,  of 
Black  Rock,  more  than  a  yc  ar  ago,  he  told  me  that  he  had  enquired 
of  the  man  who  furnished  hay  for  feeding  cattle  at  the  Central 
Yards,  in  Buffalo,  as  to  the  loads  of  manure  he  sold,  and  though  I 
can  not  now  say  the  exact  quiuitity  to  a  ton  of  hay,  I  remember 
that  it  was  very  little — far  less  than  I  had  before  supposed.  Please 
explain  tl)is  straw-manure  matter." 

Boussingault,  the  great  French  chemist-farmer,  repeatedly  ana- 
lyzed the  manure  from  his  barn-j'ard.  "The  animals  which  had 
produced  this  dung,  were  30  horses,  30  oxen,  and  from  10  to  20 
pigs.  The  absolute  quantity  of  moisture  was  ascertained,  by  first 
drj'ing  in  the  air  a  considerable  w-eight  of  dung,  and  after  pound- 
ing, continuing  and  completing,  the  drying  of  a  given  quantity." 
No  one  can  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  results.  The  dung  made 
in  the 

Winter  of  18.37-8,  contained  79.6  per  cent  of  water. 
"  1838-9,         "  77.8    "      "      "        " 

Autumn"  1839,  "  80.4    "      "      " 

Fresh  solid  cow-dung  contains,  according  to  the  same  authority, 
90  per  cent  of  water. 

I  have  frequently  seen  manure  drawn  out  in  the  spring,  that 
had  not  been  decomposed  at  all,  and  with  more  or  less  snow 
among  it,  and  with  water  dripping  from  the  wagon,  while  it  was 
being  loaded.  It  was,  in  fact,  straw  saturated  with  water,  and  dis- 
colored by  the  droppings  of  animals.  Now,  how  nmch  of  such 
manure  would  a  ton  of  dry  straw  make?  If  we  should  take  20 
lbs.  of  straw,  trample  it  down,  and  from  time  to  time  sprinkle  it 
with  water  and  snow,  until  we  had  got  on  80  lbs.,  and  then  put 
on  20  lbs.  more  straw,  and  80  lbs.  more  water,  and  keep  on  until 
we  had  used  up  a  ton  of  straw,  how  much  "  so-called  manure," 
should  we  have  to  draw  out  ? 

30  lbs.  of  stmw,  and  80  lbs.  watcr=100  lbs.  so-called  manure. 
2,000  lbs.  of  straw,  and  8,000  lbs.  water=10,000  lbs.  so-called  manure. 

In  other  words,  we  get  five  tons  of  such  manure  from  one  ton  of 


MANAGEMENT    OP    MANUIIES    OS    GRAIX-FAKMS.        125 

straw.  This  is,  porhups,  an  extreme  case,  but  there  eaii  be  little 
doubt,  that  a  ton  of  straw,  trampled  down  by  cattle,  and  sheep,  in 
an  open  barn-yard,  exposed  to  snow  and  rain,  would  weij^di  four 
tons  when  drawn  out  wet  in  the  spring. 

Yes,  it  is  quite  an  argument  in  favor  of  manure  cellars.  I  have 
always  hail  a  prejudice  against  them — probably,  because  the  lirst 
one  I  saw  was  badly  managed.  There  is,  however,  no  necessity, 
even  in  an  ordinary  open  barn-yard,  with  more  or  less  sheds  and 
stables,  of  having  so  much  water  in  the  manure  when  drawn  out. 
The  real  point  of  my  remarks,  which  so  surprised  Mr.  Geddes, 
was  this:  We  have  to  draw  out  so  much  water  with  our  manure, 
under  any  circumstances,  that  we  should  try  to  have  it  as  rich  as 
possible.  It  is  certainly  true,  that,  //  the  manure  from  a  ton  of 
straw  is  worth  $:3,  that  from  a  ton  of  clover-hay,  is  worth  $10. 
And  it  costs  no  more  to  draw  out  and  spread  the  one  than  the 
other.  I  have  never  yet  found  a  farmer  who  would  believe  that 
a  ton  of  clover-hay,  rotted  down  in  the  barn-yard,  would  make 
three  or  four  tons  of  manure;  but  he  would  readily  assent  to  the 
proposition,  that  it  took  four  or  five  tons  of  green  clover  to  make  a 
ton  of  hay ;  and  that  if  these  four  or  five  tons  of  green-clover  were 
rotted  in  the  yard,  it  would  make  three  or  four  tons  of  manure. 
And  yet,  the  only  dificrence  between  the  green-clover  and  the  hay, 
is,  that  the  latter  has  lost  some  60  or  70  per  cent  of  water  in  cur- 
ing. Add  that  amount  of  water  to  the  hay,  and  it  will  make  as 
much  manure  as  the  green-clover  from  which  the  hay  was  made. 

GYPSUM    AND    CLOVER    AS    MANURE. 

A  good  farmer  came  in  while  we  were  talking.  "  Nothing  like 
plaster  and  clover,"  he  said,  "  for  keeping  up  a  wheat-farm."  And 
you  will  find  this  the  general  opinion  of  nearly  all  American 
wheat-growers.  It  must  be  accepted  as  a  fact.  But  the  deduc- 
tions drawn  from  the  fact  are  as  various  as  they  are  numerous. 

Let  us  look  first  at  tlie  fact.  And,  If  you  like,  we  will  take  my 
own  farm  as  an  example.  About  60  years  ago,  it  was  covered  with 
the  primeval  forest.  The  trees,  on  the  higher  and  drier  land,  were 
first  cut  down,  and  many  of  them  burnt  on  the  land.  Wheat  was 
sown  among  the  stumps.  The  crop  varied  in  different  years,  from 
10  to  30  bushels  per  acre.  When  30  bushels  were  grown,  the  fact 
was  remembered.  When  10  bushels  only  were  grown,  little  was  said 
about  it  in  after  years,  until  now  there  is  a  general  impression 
that  our  wheat  crop?  were  formerly  much  larger  per  acre  than 
now.    I  doubt  it;  but  we  will  not  discuss  the  point.     One  thing  is 


126  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

certaiu.  the  land  woukl  produce  good  crops  of  ciovcr;  and  when 
this  clover  was  plowed  under  lor  manure,  we  got  better  crops  of 
wheat  afterwards.  This  was  the  rule.  Later,  wc  coniuieuced  to 
use  gypsum  as  a  top-dressing  on  clover.  The  effect  was  often 
wonderful.  Farmers  will  tell  you  that  they  sowed  200  lbs.  of 
plaster  per  acre,  on  their  young  clover,  in  the  spring,  and  it 
diiubh'd  the  crop.  Tills  statement  expresses  an  agricultural,  and  not 
an  arithmetical  fact.  We  do  not  know  that  the  crop  on  the  plas- 
tered portion  was  twice  as  heavy  as  on  the  unplastered.  We  know 
tiiat  it  was  larger,  and  more  luxuriant.  There  was  a  greater,  and 
more  vigorous  growth.  And  this  extra  growth  was  caused  by  the 
small  top-dressing  of  powdered  gypsum  rock.  It  was  a  great  fact 
m  agriculture.     I  will  call  it  fact,  No.  1. 

Then,  wlien  the  clover  was  turned  under,  we  usually  got  good 
wheat.  This  is  fact,  No,  2.  On  these  two  facts,  hang  many  of 
our  agricultural  theories.  We  may  state  these  facts  in  many  ways. 
Still,  it  all  conies  to  this :  Clover  is  good  for  wheat ;  plaster  is  good 
for  clover. 

There  is  another  fact,  which  is  a  matter  of  general  observation 
and  remark.  You  rarely  find  a  good  farmer  who  does  not  pay 
special  attention  to  his  clover-crop.  When  I  was  riding  with  Mr. 
Geddes,  among  the  farmers  of  Onondag-a  County,  on  passing  a 
farm  where  everything  looked  thrifty — good  fences,  good  build- 
ings, good  garden,  good  stock,  and  the  land  clean  and  in  good  con- 
dition— I  would  ask  who  lived  there,  or  some  other  question.  No 
matter  what.  The  answer  was  always  the  same.  "Oh  !  he  is 
another  of  our  clover  men."     We  will  call  this  fact,  No.  3. 

And  when,  a  year  afterwards,  Mr.  Geddes  returned  my  visit, 
and  I  drove  him  around  among  the  farmers  of  Monroe  County,  he 
found  precisely  the  same  state  of  facts.  All  our  good  farmers 
were  clover  men.  Among  the  good  wheat-growers  in  Michigan, 
you  will  find  the  same  state  of  things. 

These  are  the  facts.    Let  us  not  quarrel  over  them. 


CHEAPEST    AfANTKK    FOIi    FARMERS.  127 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 
THE    CHEAPEST    MANURE    A    FARMER    CAN    USE. 

1  do  not  know  who  first  said,  "The  cheapest  manure  a  fanner 
can  use  is — clover-seed,"  hut  the  saying  has  become  part  of  our 
airricultural  literature,  and  deserves  a  passing  remark. 

I  hKve  heard  fjood  farmers  in  Western  New  York  say,  that  if 
they  had  a  field  sown  with  wheat  that  they  were  going  to  plow 
the  spring  after  the  crop  was  harvested,  they  would  sow  10  lbs.  of 
clover-seed  on  the  wheat  in  the  spring.  They  thought  that  the 
growth  of  the  clover  in  the  fall,  after  the  wheat  was  cut,  and  the 
growth  the  next  spring,  before  the  land  was  plowed,  would  afTord 
manure  worth  much  more  than  tlie  cost  of  the  clover-seed. 

"  I  do  not  doubt  it,"  said  tiie  Deacon ;  "  but  w  onld  it  not  be 
better  to  let  the  crop  grow  a  few  months  longer,  and  then  plow 
it  under  ?  " 

"But  that  is  not  the  point,"  I  remarked;  "we  sometimes  adopt 
a  rotation  when  Indian-corn  follows  a  crop  of  wheat.  In  such  a 
ca.se,  good  farmers  sometimes  jilow  the  land  in  the  fall,  and  again 
the  next  spring,  and  then  plant  corn.  This  is  one  method.  But  I 
have  known,  as  I  said  before,  good  farmers  to  seed  down  the 
wheat  with  clover ;  and  the  following  spring,  say  the  third  week 
in  May,  plow  under  the  young  clover,  and  plant  immediately  on 
the  furrow.  If  the  laud  is  warm,  and  in  good  condition,  you  will 
frequently  get  clover,  by  this  time,  a  foot  high,  and  will  have  two 
or  three  tons  of  succulent  vegetation  to  turn  under;  and 
the  farmer  who  first  recommended  the  practice  to  me,  said 
that  the  cut-worms  were  so  fond  <jf  this  green-clover  that 
they  did  not  molest  the  young  corn-plants.  I  once  tried  the  plan 
myself,  and  found  it  to  work  well ;  but  since  then,  I  have  kept  so 
many  pigs  and  sheep,  that  clover  has  been  too  useful  to  plow  un- 
der.    But  we  will  not  discuss  this  point  at  present. 

"  What  I  wanted  to  say  is  this:  Here  we  have  a  field  in  wheat. 
Half  of  it  (A)  we  seed  down  with  12  lbs.  of  clover-seed  per  acre; 
the  other  half  (B)  not.  The  dovcr-sced  and  sowing  on  A,  cost,  say, 
$2  per  acre.  We  plow^  B  m  the  fall ;  this  will  cost  us  about  as 
much  as  the  clover-seed  sown  on  A.  In  the  spring,  A  and  B  ar^ 
both  plowed  and  planted  to  corn.  Now,  which  linlf  of  the  field 
will  be  in  the  cleanest  and  best  condition,  and  which  will  produce 
the  best  corn,  and  the  best  barley,  or  oats,  afterwards  ?  " 


128  TALKS    ON    MAXIRES. 

"  1  vole  lor  A,"  .said  tlic  Diaoon. 

"  I  vote  for  A,"  said  the  Doctor. 

"  1  vote  for  A,"  said  the  S(iuire. 

"  I  sliouLl  tbiuk,"  modestly  suggested  Charley,  "  that  il  would 
depend  somewhat  on  the  soil,"  and  Charley  is  right.  Ou  a  clean, 
moderately  rich  piece  of  light,  sandy  soil,  I  should  certainly  ex- 
pect much  better  corn,  and  better  barley  or  oats,  on  A,  where  the 
clover  was  grown,  than  on  B.  But  if  the  lield  was  a  strong  loam, 
that  needed  thorough  cultivation  to  get  it  mellow  enough  for  corn, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  B  would  come  out  ahead.  At  any 
rate,  I  am  sure  that  on  my  own  farm,  moderately  ^tifl■  land,  if  I 
was  going  to  j^lant  corn  after  wheat,  I  should  uot  seed  it  down 
with  clover.  I  would  jilow  the  wheat  stubiile  immediately  after 
harvest,  and  harrow  and  cultivate  it  to  kill  the  weeds,  and  then, 
si.\  weeks  or  two  months  later,  I  would  plow  it  again.  I  would 
draw  out  manure  in  the  winter,  ])ile  it  up  in  the  field  to  ferment, 
and  the  next  spring  spread  it.  and  i)low  it  under,  and  then — 

"And  tlien  what  ?"  asked  the  Deacon. — "  Wli}- the  truth  is," 
said  I,  "then  I  would  not  plant  corn  at  all.  I  should  either  sow 
the  field  to  barley,  or  drill  in  mangel-wurzel  or  Swede-turnips. 
But  if  I  did  plant  corn,  I  should  e.xpect  better  corn  than  if  I  had 
sown  clover  with  the  wheat ;  and  the  land,  if  the  corn  was  well 
cultivated,  would  be  remarkably  clem,  and  in  tine  condition;  and 
the  next  time  the  land  was  seeded  down  with  clover,  we  could 
rcasonal)ly  expect  a  great  crop." 

The  truth  is,  that  clover-seed  is  sometimes  a  very  cheap  manure, 
and  farmers  are  in  no  danger  of  sowing  too  much  of  it.  I  do  not 
mean  sowing  too  much  seed  per  acre,  but  they  arc  in  no  danger  of 
sowing  too  many  acres  with  clover.  On  tliis  point,  there  is  no 
dilTerence  of  oi)inion.  It  is  only  when  we  come  to  exjilain  the 
action  of  clover — when  we  draw  deductions  from  the  facts  of  the 
the  ea.se — that  we  en'.cr  a  field  bristling  all  over  with  controversy. 


"  You  have  just  finished  threshing,"  said  tlie  Deacon,  "and  for 
my  part,  I  would  rather  hear  how  your  wheat  turned  out,  than  to 
listen  to  any  of  j'our  chemical  talk  about  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash." 

"  The  wheat,"  said  I,  "  turned  out  full  as  well  as  I  expected. 
Fourteen  acres  of  it  was  after  wheat,  and  eight  acres  of  it  after 
oats.  Both  these  fields  were  seeded  down  with  clover  List  year, 
but  the  clover  failed,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  risk 
them  a  ::un  witli  wlieal.     Tlic  remainder  was  after  barlev.     In  all, 


<  IIIiAPEST    MAXIBK    KOK    lAIlMIIKS.  129 

there  was  n<»t  quite  40  acres,  and  we  Imtl  !»54  liushcls  of  Dielil 
wheat.  This  is  not  bad  in  the  eireuin.^tanecs ;  l)Ut  I  shall  not 
be  content  until  I  can  uvcra;^e,  takini;  oni-  y<'ar  with  another,  ;J5 
to  40  bushel-*  |>er  acre.  If  the  land  had  i>een  rich  enou;;h,  there 
would  un(iueslioiiai)ly  have  been  40  bushels  |)er  acre  this  year. 
Tliat  is  to  say,  the  bia»>ii  was  (piite  capable  of  produi  inn'  this 
amount;  and  I  think  the  nu'chancial  condition  of  the  land  was 
also  ecjual  to  it ;  all  that  wasnicdid  was  suflicient  available  plant- 
food  in  the  soil." 

*'  I  can  see  no  reason,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  wiiy  you  may  not  av- 
crasre  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  in  a  good  season." 

"  The  tield  of  14  acres,"  said  I,  "  where  wheal  followed  wheat, 
yielded  '2'.\  bushels  per  acre.  Last  year  it  yielded  22  bushels  i)er 
acre  ;  and  so  we  got  in  tiie  two  yt  ais  4.")  bushels  per  acre." 

This  ticld  has  had  no  manure  of  any  kind  for  years.  In  fart, 
since  till'  land  was  cleared,  40  or  50  years  ago,  I  ])resume  that  all 
tiie  manure  that  has  been  ap[tlicd  would  not,  in  the  aggregate, 
lie  equal  to  more  than  a  good  crop  of  clover-ha}'.  The  available 
jilant-fooil  r('i[uin'd  to  i)roiluce  these  two  crops  of  wheat  came 
from  the  soil  itself,  and  from  tlie  rain,  dews,  and  atmosi)here.  The 
land  is  now  seeded  down  with  clover,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  bushel 
or  two  of  plaster  per  acre,  next  spring,  it  is  not  improbable  that, 
if  mown  twice  for  hay  next  year,  it  will  yield  in  the  two  crops 
three  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

Now,  three  tons  of  clover-hay  contain  about  33  lbs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  90  lbs.  of  |)olash,  and  I.jO  lbs.  of  nitrogen. 

The  last  crop  of  wheat,  of  22  bushels  per  acre,  and  say  1,500 
lbs.  of  straw,  would  contain  : 

/;:  the  grain.  In  the  straw,  hi  tfjtal  crop. 

Phosphoric  aci.l Ill  lbs.  .".*  lbs.  1.5i  lbs. 

Potash t:}   '•  !)}   "  IGi   " 

Nitrogen 23  "  Hi   "  32i   " 

It  seems  very  unkind  in  the  wheat-plants  not  to  give  me  more 
than  22  bushels  per  acre,  when  the  clover-plants  comiiig  after  will 
find  phosphoric  acid  enough  for  40  l)ushels  of  wheat,  and  potash 
ami  nitrogen  enough  for  nearly  100  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 
And  these  are   the   tliree   important  constituents  of  plant-food. 

Why,  tlien,  did  I  get  only  22  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre?  I  got 
23  busliels  on  the  same  land  the  year  previous,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  if  I  had  sown  the  same  land  to  wheat  again  this 
fall,  I  should  get  12  or  15  bushels  per  acre  again  next  year.  But 
the  clover  will  find  plant-fool  enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat. 

"  There  is  not  much  doubt,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  you  will 


130  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

get  a  good  crop  of  clover,  if  you  will  keep  the  sheep  off  of  the  land 
this  fall.  But  I  do  not  see  what  you  mean  by  the  clover-plants 
finding  food  enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  while  in  point  of 
fact,  if  you  had  sown  the  field  again  to  wheat  this  fall,  you  would 
not,  as  you  say,  probably  get  more  than  13  or  15  bushels  of  wheat. 

"  He  me:ins  this,"  said  the  Doctor.     "  If  he  had  sown  the  land 
to  wheat  ihis  fall,  without  manure,  he  would  probably  not  ge 
over  15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  yet  you  both  agree  that  the 
land  will,  in  all  probability,  produce  next  year,  if  mown  twice, 
three  tons  of  clover-hay  per  acre,  without  any  manure. 

"  Now,  if  we  admit  that  the  clover  gets  no  more  nitrogen  from 
the  rain  and  dews,  and  from  the  atmosphere,  than  the  wheat  will 
get,  tlien  it  follows  that  this  soil,  which  will  only  produce  15  bush- 
els of  wheat  per  acre,  does,  in  point  of  fact,  contain  plant-food 
enough  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  and  the  usual  proportion  of  straw. 

"  The  two  crops  take  up  from  the  soil  as  follows  : 

rhoiy}?ioric  acid.      Jhtash.  Nitrogen. 

15  bushels  wheat  and  straw lOJ^  lbs.  lU  lbs.  22  lbs. 

3  tons  clover-Lay 33   "  90     "  150   " 

"  These  facts  and  figures,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  are  worth 
looking  at  and  thinking  about.  Why  can  not  the  wheat  get  as 
much  phosphoric  acid  out  of  the  soil  as  the  clover?" 

"Because,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  roots  of  the  clover  go  down 
deeper  into  the  subsoil  than  the  roots  of  wheat." 

"That  is  a  very  good  reason,  so  far  as  it  goes,"  said  I,  "but 
docs  not  include  all  the  facts.  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt,  that  if  I 
had  sown  this  land  to  wheat,  and  put  on  75  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per 
acre,  I  should  have  got  a  wheat-crop  containing,  in  grain  and 
straw,  30  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  And  so  the  reason  I  got  15 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  instead  of  40  bushels,  is  not  because 
the  roots  of  wheat  do  not  go  deep  enough  to  find  sufficient  soluble 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  Possibly,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  nitrogen  you  apply  may  ren> 
der  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  soil  more  soluble." 

"  That  is  ti-ue,"  said  I ;  "  and  this  was  the  answer  Liebig  gave  to 
Mr.  Lawes.  Of  which  more  at  some  future  time.  But  this  an- 
swer, like  the  Deacon's,  does  not  cover  all  the  facts  of  the  case  ; 
for  a  supply  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid  would  not,  in  all  prolxi- 
bility,  give  me  a  large  crop  of  wheat.  I  wull  give  you  some  facts 
presently  bearing  on  this  point. 

"  What  we  want  to  find  out  is,  why  the  clover  can  get  so  much 
more  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  nitrogen,  than  the  wheat,  from 
the  same  soil  ?" 


CHEAPEST   MANURE    FOE   FARMERS.  131 

MORE    ABOUT    CLOVER. 

The  Deacon  scemcil  to  think  the  Doctor  was  going  to  give  a 
scientific  answer  to  the  question.  "  If  the  clover  can  get  more  ni- 
trogen, phospiioric  acid,  and  potasli,  from  the  same  soil  than 
wheat,"  said  he,  "  why  not  accept  the  fact,  and  act  accordingly  ? 
You  scientific  gentlemen  want  to  explain  everytlihig,  and  some- 
times make  confusion  worse  confounded.  We  know  that  a  sheep 
will  grow  fat  in  a  pasture  where  a  cow  would  starve." 

"  True,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  that  is  because  the  cow  gathers 
food  with  her  tongue,  and  must  have  the  grass  long  enough  for 
her  to  get  hold  of  it ;  while  a  sheep  i)icks  up  the  grass  with  her 
teeth  and  gums,  and,  conscciucntly,  the  sheep  can  eat  the  grass 
down  into  the  very  ground." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  and  how  do  you  know  but  that 
the  roots  of  the  clover  gatlier  ui)  their  food  sheep-fashion,  while 
the  wheat-roots  eat  like  a  cow  V  " 

"  That  is  not  a  very  scientific  way  of  putting  it,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor; "but  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  Deacon  has  the  right  idea." 

"  Perhaps,  then,"  said  I,  "  we  had  better  let  it  go  at  that  until  we 
get  more  light  on  the  subject.  We  must  conclude  that  the  wheat 
can  not  get  food  enough  from  the  soil  to  yield  a  maximum  crop, 
not  because  there  is  not  food  enough  in  the  field,  but  the  roots  of 
tlie  wheat  are  so  constituted  that  they  can  not  gather  it  up ;  while 
clover-roots,  foraging  in  the  same  soil,  can  find  all  they  want." 

"  Clover,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  the  scavenger  of  the  farm ;  like 
a  pig,  it  gathers  up  what  would  otherwise  be  wasted." 

"  Of  course,  these  illustrations,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  do  not  give 
us  any  clear  idea  of  how  the  clover-plants  take  up  food.  We  must 
recollect  that  the  roots  of  plants  take  up  their  food  in  solution  ; 
and  it  has  just  occurred  to  me  that,  possibly,  Mr.  Lawes'  experi- 
ments on  the  amount  of  water  given  off  by  plants  during  their 
growth,  may  throw  some  light  on  the  subject  we  are  discussing." 

"Mr.  Lawes  found,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  that  a  v;heat-plant, 
from  March  19  to  June  28,  or  101  days,  evaporated  through  its 
leaves,  etc.,  45,713  grains  of  water;  while  a  clover-plan  1,  standing 
alongside,  and  in  precisely  similar  condition,  evaporated  55,093 
grains.  The  clover  was  cut  June  28,  when  in  full  bloom.  The 
wheat-plant  was  allowed  to  grow  until  ripe,  Sept.  7.  From  June  28 
to  Sept.  7,  or  72  days,  the  wheat-plant  evaporated  67,814  grains." 

"  One  moment,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  as  I  understand,  the  clover- 
plant  evaporated  more  water  than  the  wheat-plant,  until  the  28th 
of  June,  but  that  during  the  next  71  days,  the  wheat-plant  evap 
orated  more  water  than  it  had  during  the  previous  101  days." 


132  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  if  these  facts  prove  nothing  else,  they  a\ 
least  show  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between  wheat  and 
clover.  I  was  at  Rothamsted  when  these  experiments  were 
made.  During  the  first  nine  days  of  the  experiment,  the  clovi-r- 
plant  evaporated  399.6  grains  of  water ;  while  the  wheat-plant, 
standing  alongside,  evaporated  only  128.7  grains.  In  other  words, 
the  clover-plant  evaporated  three  times  as  much  water  as  the 
wheat-plant.  During  the  ne.xt  31  days,  the  wheat-plant  evap- 
orated 1,207.8  grains,  and  tlie  clover-plant  1,043.0  grains;  but  dur 
ing  the  next  27  days,  from  April  28  to  May  25,  the  wheat-plant 
evaporated  162.4  grains  of  water  per  day,  while  the  clover-plant 
only  evaporated  109.2  grains  per  day.  During  the  next  34  days, 
from  May  25  to  June  28,  the  wheat-plant  evaporated  1,177.4  grains 
per  day,  and  the  clover-plant  1,473.5  grains  per  day." 

"  In  June,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  clover  evaporates  ten  limes 
as  much  water  per  day  as  it  did  in  May.  How  much  water  would 
an  acre  of  clover  evaporate  ?  " 

"  Let  Charley  figure  it  out,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Suppose  each 
plant  occupies  10  square  inches  of  land ;  there  are  0,272,640  square 
inches  in  an  acre,  and,  consequently,  there  wonld  be  027,264 
clover-plants  on  an  acre.  Each  plant  evaptjrated  1,473.5  grains 
per  day,  and  there  are  7,000  grains  in  a  pound." 

Charley  made  the  calculation,  and  found  that  an  acre  of  clover, 
from  May  25  to  June  28,  evaporated  52S,.5U8  lbs.  of  water,  or  15,- 
547  lbs.  per  day. 

A  much  more  accurate  way  of  ascertaining  how  much  water  an 
acre  of  clover  evaporates  is  afforded  us  l>y  these  experiments. 
After  the  plants  were  cut,  they  Avere  weighed  and  analyzed  ;  and 
it  being  known  exactly  how  much  water  each  plant  had  given  off 
during  its  growth,  we  have  all  the  facts  necessary  to  tell  us  just 
how  much  a  crop  of  a  given  weight  would  evaporate.  In  brief,  it 
was  found  that  for  each  pound  of  dry  substance  in  the  wheat- 
plant,  247.4  lbs.  of  water  had  been  evaporated;  and  for  each 
pound  in  the  clover-plant,  269.1  lbs. 

An  acre  of  wheat  of  15  bushels  per  acre  of  grain,  and  an  equal 
weigiit  of  straw,  would  exhale  during  t)ie  spring  and  summer 
177f  tons  of  water,  or  calculated  on  172  days,  the  duration  of  the 
experiment,  2,055  lbs.  per  day. 

An  acre  of  clover  that  would  make  two  tons  of  hay,  w<>uld 
pass  off  through  its  leaves,  in  101  days,  430  tons  of  water,  or  8,600 
lbs.  per  da}^ — more  than  four  times  as  much  as  tlie  wheat. 

These  figures  show  that,  from  an  agricultural  point  of  view, 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  wheat  and  clover  ;  and  yet  I 


CHEArEST    MA  NUKE    FOR    lAUMEUS.  133 

ihink  the  figures  do  not  show  the  whole  of  the  difference.  The 
clover  was  cut  just  at  the  time  when  the  wheat-plant  was 
enierini;  on  its  period  of  most  rapid  growth  and  exhalation,  and, 
conseciuently,  the  figures  given  above  probably  exaggerate  the 
amount  of  water  given  ofi"  by  tne  wheat  during  the  early  part  of 
the  season.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  ([uile  clear,  and  this  is  all  I  want  to 
show,  that  an  acre  of  good  clover  exhales  a  much  larger  amount 
of  water  from  spring  to  hay-harvest  than  an  acre  of  wheat. 

"  And  what,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  was  evidently  getting  tired 
of  the  figures,  "does  all  this  prove?" 

The  figures  prove  tliat  clover  can  drink  a  much  greater  quantity 
of  water  during  March,  April,  May,  and  June,  than  wheat;  and, 
consetpientiy,  to  gel  the  same  amount  of  food,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  tlie  clover  should  have  as  much  nitrogen,  pliosphoric  acid, 
potash,  etc.,  in  the  water  as  tlie  wheat-i)lant  requires.  I  do  not 
know  that  I  make  myself  understood." 

"You  want  to  show,"  said  the  Deacon,  "that  the  wheat-plant 
requires  richer  food  than  clover." 

Yes,  I  want  to  show  that,  though  clover  requires  more  food  per 
day  than  wheat,  yet  the  clover  can  drink  such  a  large  amount  of 
water,  tliat  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  the  "sap  of  tli3  soil"  so 
rich  in  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  for  clover,  as  it  is 
for  wheat     I  think  this  tells  the  whole  story. 

Clover  is,  or  may  be,  the  grandest  renovating  and  enriching 
crop  commonly  grown  on  our  farms.  It  owes  its  great  value,  not 
to  any  power  it  may  or  may  not  possess  of  getting  nitrogen  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  pliosi)horic  acid  and  potash  from  the  subsoil, 
but  principally,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  fact  that  the  roots  can  drink 
up  such  a  large  amount  of  water,  and  live  and  thrive  on  very 
weak  food. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  A  FARM  RICH  BY  GROWING  CLOVER. 

Not  by  growing  the  clover,  and  selling  it.  Nothing  would  ex- 
haust the  land  so  rapidly  as  such  a  practice.  We  must  either  plow 
under  the  clover,  let  it  rot  on  the  surface,  or  pasture  it,  or  use  it 
for  soiling,  or  make  it  into  hay,  feed  it  out  to  stock,  and  return  the 
manure  to  the  land.  If  clover  got  its  nitrogen  from  the  atnios- 
p'.iere,  we  might  sell  the  clover,  and  depend  on  the  roots  left  in  the 
ground,  to  enrich  the  soil  for  tlie  next  crop.  But  if,  as  I  have  en- 
deavored to  show,  clover  sets  its  nitrogen  from  a  weak  solution  in 
th;'  soil,  it  is  clear,  that  thougli  for  a  year  or  two  we  might  raise 
good  crops  from  the  plant-food  left  in  the  clover-roots,  yet  we 


134  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

should  soon  find  that  growing  a  crop  of  clover,  and  leavmg  only 
the  roots  in  the  soil,  is  no  way  to  permanently  enrich  land. 

I  do  not  say  that  such  a  practice  will  "  exhaust"  the  land.  For- 
tunately, while  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  impoverish  land,  we  should 
have  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  most  advanced  agricultural  science, 
before  we  could  "exhaust''  land  of  its  plant-food.  The  free  use  of 
Nitrate  of  Soda,  or  Sulphate  of  Ammonia,  might  enable  us  to  do 
something  in  the  way  of  exhausting  our  farms,  but  i*,  would  reduce 
our  balance  at  a  bank,  or  send  us  to  the  poor-house,  before  we  had 
fully  robbed  the  land  of  its  plant-food. 

To  exhaust  land,  by  growing  and  selling  clover,  is  an  agricultural 
impossibilit\%  for  the  simple  reason  that,  long  before  the  soil  is 
exhausted,  the  clover  would  produce  such  a  poverty-stricken  crop, 
that  we  should  give  iip  the  attempt. 

We  can  make  our  land  poor,  by  growing  clover,  and  selling  it ; 
or,  we  can  make  our  land  rich,  by  growing  clover,  and  feeding  it 
out  on  the  farm.  Or,  rather,  w^e  can  make  our  land  rich,  by  drain- 
ing it  where  needed,  cultivating  it  thoroughly,  so  as  to  develope 
the  latent  plant  food  existing  in  the  soil,  and  then  by  growing 
clover  to  take  up  and  organize  this  plant-food.  This  is  how  to 
make  land  rich  by  growing  clover.  It  is  not,  in  one  sense,  the 
clover  that  makes  the  land  rich ;  it  is  the  draining  and  cultivation, 
that  furnishes  the  food  for  the  clover.  The  clover  takes  up  this 
food  and  concentrates  it.  The  clover  does  not  create  the  plant- 
food  ;  it  merely  saves  it.  It  is  the  thorough  cultivation  that 
enriches  the  land,  not  the  clover. 

"  I  wish,"  writes  a  distinguished  New  York  gentleman,  who  has 
a  farm  of  barren  sand,  "you  would  tell  us  whether  it  is  best  to  let 
clover  ripen  and  rot  on  the  surface,  or  plow  it  under  when  in 
blossom  ?  I  have  heard  that  it  gave  more  nitrogen  to  the  land  to 
let  it  ripen  and  rot  on  it,  but  as  I  am  no  chemist,  I  do  not  know." 

If,  instead  of  plowing  under  the  clover — say  the  last  of  June,  it 
•was  left  to  grow  a  month  longer,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  clover- 
roots  and  seed  would  contain  more  nitrogen  than  they  did  a  month 
earlier.  It  was  formerly  thought  that  there  was  a  loss  of  nitrogen 
during  the  ripening  process,  but  the  evi<lence  is  not  altogether  con- 
clusive on  the  point.  Still,  if  I  had  a  piece  of  sandy  land  that  I 
wished  to  enrich  by  clover,  I  do  not  think  I  should  plow  it  under  in 
June,  on  the  one  hand,  or  let  it  grow  until  maturity,  and  rot  down, 
on  the  other.  I  should  rather  prefer  to  mow  the  crop  just  as  it 
commenced  to  blossom,  and  let  the  clover  lie,  spread  out  on  tbe 
land,  as  left  by  the  machine.  There  would,  I  think,  be  no  loss  of 
fertilizing  elements  by  evaporation,  while  the  clover-hay  would  act 


EXPERIMENTS  ON  CLOTEE.  135 

as  a  mulch,  and  the  second  growth  of  clover  would  be  encouraged 
by  it.  Mow  this  second  crop  again,  about  the  first  week  in  August. 
Then,  unless  it  was  desirable  to  continue  the  process  another  year, 
the  land  might  be  plowed  up  in  two  or  three  weeks,  turning  under 
the  two  previous  crops  of  clover  that  are  on  the  surface,  together 
with  the  green-clover  still  growing.  I  believe  this  would  be  better 
than  to  let  the  clover  exhaust  itself  by  running  to  seed. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 
DR.    VCELCKER'S    EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER. 

In  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  for 
1M68,  Dr.  Voelcker,  the  able  chemist  of  the  Society,  and  formerly 
Professor  of  Agricultural  Chemistry,  at  the  Royal  Agricultural 
College  at  Cirencester,  England,  has  given  us  a  paper  "  On  the 
Causes  of  the  Benefits  of  Clover,  as  a  preparatory  Crop  for 
"Wheat."  The  paper  has  been  repeatedly  and  extensively  quoted 
in  this  country,  but  has  not  been  as  critically  studied  as  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject  demands. 

"Never  mind  all  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "tell  us  what  Dr. 
Voelcker  says." 

"Here  is  the  paper,"  said  I, "  and  Charley  will  read  it  to  us." 
Charley  read  as  follows  : 

"  Agricultural  chemists  inform  us,  that  iu  order  to  maintain  the 
productive  powers  of  the  land  unimpaired,  we  must  restore  to  it  the 
phosphoric  acid,  potash,  nitrogen,  and  other  substances,  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  our  farm  crops ;  the  constant  removal 
of  organic  and  inorganic  soil  constituents,  by  the  crops  usually  sold 
oflF  the  farm,  leading,  as  is  well  known,  to  more  or  less  rapid  dete- 
rioration and  gradual  exhaustion  of  the  land.  Even  the  best 
wheat  soils  of  this  and  other  countries,  liecome  more  and  more  im- 
poverished, and  sustain  a  loss  of  wheat-yielding  power,  when  corn- 
crops  are  grown  in  too  rapid  succession  without  manure.  Hence, 
the  universal  practice  of  manuring,  and  that  also  of  consuming  oil- 
cake, corn,  and  similar  purchase!  food  on  land  naturally  poor,  or 
partially  exhausted  by  previous  cropping. 

"  Whilst,  however,  it  holds  good  as  a  general  rule,  that  no  soil 
can  be  cropped  for  any  length  of  time,  without  gradually  becoming 


136  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

more  and  more  infertile,  if  uo  manure  be  applied  to  it,  or  if  the 
fertilizing  elements  removed  by  the  crops  grown  thereon,  be  not  by 
some  means  or  other  restored,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  fact,  that  after  a 
heavy  crop  of  clover  carried  otf  as  hay,  the  land,  far  from  being  less 
fertile  than  before,  is  peculiarly  well  adapted,  even  without  the 
addition  of  manure,  to  bear  a  good  crop  of  wheat  in  tbe  following 
year,  provided  the  season  be  favorable  to  its  growth.  This  fact,  in- 
deed, is  so  well  known,  that  many  farmers  justly  regard  the  growth 
of  clover  as  one  of  the  best  preparatory  operations  which  the  land 
can  undergo,  in  order  to  its  producing  an  abundant  crop  of  wheat 
in  the  following  year.  It  has  further  been  noticed,  that  clover 
mown  twdce,  leaves  the  land  in  a  better  condition,  as  regards  its 
wheat-producing  capabilities,  than  when  mown  once  only  for  hay, 
and  the  second  crop  fed  off  on  the  land  by  slieep;  for,  notwith- 
standing that  in  the  latter  instance  the  fertilizing  elements  in  the 
clover-crop  are  in  part  restored  in  the  sheep  excrements,  yet,  con- 
trary to  expectation,  this  partial  restoration  of  the  elements  of 
fertility  to  the  land  has  not  the  effect  of  producing  more  or  better 
wheat  in  the  following  year,  than  is  reaped  on  land  from  off  which 
the  whole  clover-crop  has  been  carried,  and  to  which  no  manure 
whatever  has  been  applied. 

"  Again,  in  the  opinion  of  several  good,  practical  agriculturists, 
with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  land  whereon  clover 
has  been  grown  for  seed  in  the  preceding  year,  yields  a  better 
crop  of  wheat  than  it  does  when  the  clover  is  mown  twice  for  hay, 
or  even  only  once,  and  afterwards  fed  off  bj^  sheep." 

"I  do  not  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  this  agrees  with  our 
experience  here.  A  good  crop  of  clover-seed  is  profitable,  but  it  is 
thought  to  be  rather  hard  on  land." 

"  Such,"  said  I,  "  is  the  opinion  of  John  Johnston.  He  thinks 
allowing  clover  to  go  to  seed,  impoverishes  the  soil." 

Charley,  contin\ied  to  read  : 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  true  explanation  of  the  apparent  anom- 
alies connected  with  the  growth  and  chemical  history  of  the  clover- 
plant,  the  facts  just  mentioned,  having  been  noticed,  bot  once  or 
twice  only,  or  by  a  solitary  observer,  but  repeatedly,  and  by  num- 
bers of  intelligent  farmers,  are  certainly  entitled  to  credit;  and 
little  wisdom,  as  it  strikes  me,  is  displayed  by  calling  them  into 
question,  because  they  happen  to  contradict  the  prevailing  theory, 
according  to  which  a  soil  is  sai  1  to  become  more  or  less  impover- 
ished, in  proportion  to  the  large  or  small  amount  of  organic  and 
mineral  soil  constituents  carried  olF  in  the  produce." 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVER.  137 

"  That  is  wt'll  said,"  1  remarked,  "  and  very  truly  ;  but  I  will  not 
interrupt  tlie  reading." 

"  In  tlie  course  of  a  long  residence,"  continues  Dr.  Voelcker,  "in 
a  purely  agricultural  district,  I  have  often  been  struck  with  the 
remarkably  health}^  appear;ince  and  good  yield  of  wheat,  on  land 
from  which  a  heavy  crop  of  clover-hay  was  obtained  in  the 
preceding  year.  I  have  likewise  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
observing,  that,  as  a  rule,  wheat  grown  on  part  of  a  tield  whereon 
clover  has  been  twice  mown  for  hay,  is  better  than  the  produce  of 
that  on  the  part  of  the  same  lield  on  which  the  clover  has  been 
mown  only  once  for  hay,  and  afterwards  fed  off  by  sheep.  These 
observaticms,  extending  over  a  number  of  years,  led  me  to  inquire 
into  the  reasons  why  clover  is  specially  well  fitted  to  prepare  laud 
for  wheat ;  and  in  tliis  paper,  I  shall  endeavor,  as  the  result  of  my 
experiments  on  the  subject,  to  give  an  intelligible  explanation  of 
the  fact,  that  clover  is  so  excellent  a  preparatory  crop  for  wheat,  as 
it  is  practically  known  to  be. 

"  By  those  taking  a  superficial  view  of  the  subject, it  may  be  sug- 
gested that  any  injury  likely  to  be  caused  by  the  removal  of  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  fertilizing  matter,  is  altogether  insignificant,  and 
more  than  compensated  for,  by  the  benefit  which  results  from  the 
abundant  growth  of  clover-roots,  and  the  physical  improvement  in 
the  soil,  which  takes  place  in  their  decomposition.  Looking,  how- 
ever, more  closely  into  the  matter,  it  will  be  found  that  in  a  good 
crop  of  clover-hay,  a  very  considerable  amount  of  both  mineral 
and  organic  substances  is  carried  off  the  land,  and  that,  if  the  total 
amount  of  such  constituents  in  a  crop  had  to  be  regarded  exclu- 
sively as  a  measure  for  determining  the  relative  degrees  in  which 
ditferent  farm  crops  exhaust  the  soil,  clover  would  have  to  be  de- 
scribed as  about  the  most  exhausting  crop  in  the  entire  rotation. 

"  Clover-hay,  on  an  average,  and  in  round  numbers,  contains  in 
100  parts  : 

Water 17.0 

Nitrogenous  substances,  (flesh-forming  matters)* 15.6 

Non-nitrogenous  compounds 59.9 

Mineral  matter,  (ash) 7-5 

100.0 
*  Containing  nitrogen 2.5 

"  The  mineral  portion,  or  ash,  in  100  parts  of  clover-hay,  consists 
of: 


138  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

Phosphoric  acid 7.5 

Sulphuric  acid 4.3 

Carbonic  acid 18.0 

Silica 3.0 

Lime 30.0 

Magnesia 8.5 

Potash 30.0 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  loss,  etc 8.7 

100.0 

"  Let  us  suppose  the  land  to  liave  yielded  four  tons  of  clover-hay 
per  acre.  According  to  the  preceding  data,  we  find  that  such  a 
crop  includes  234  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  equal  to  273  lbs.  of  ammonia, 
and  672  lbs.  of  mineral  matter  or  ash  constituents. 

In  672  lbs.  of  clover-ash,  we  find : 

Phosphoric  acid 51i  lbs. 

Sulphuric   acid  39      " 

Carbonic  acid 131      " 

Silica 30      " 

Lime 301      " 

Magnesia 57      " 

Potash 134i    " 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  etc 58      " 

672  Ib^ 

"  Four  tons  of  clover-hay,  the  produce  of  one  acre,  thus  contain  a 
large  amount  of  nitrogen,  and  remove  from  the  soil  an  enormous 
quantity  of  mineral  matters,  abounding  in  lime  and  potash,  and 
containing  also  a  good  deal  of  phosphoric  acid. 

"Leaving  for  a  moment  the  question  untouched,  whether  the 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  clover,  is  derived  from  the  soil,  or  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  partly  from  the  one,  and  partly  from  the  other, 
no  question  can  arise  as  to  the  original  source  from  which  the 
mineral  matters  in  the  clover  produce  are  derived.  In  relation, 
therefore,  to  the  ash-constituents,  clover  must  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  exhausting  crops  usually  cultivated  in  this  country. 
This  appears  strikingly  to  be  the  case,  when  we  compare  the  pre- 
ceding figures  with  the  quantity  of  mineral  matters  which  an  aver- 
age crop  of  wheat  removes  from  an  acre  of  land. 

"  The  grain  and  straw  of  wheat  contain,  in  round  numbers,  in  100 

parts : 

Grains  of 
Wheat.    Straw. 

Water 15.0  16.0 

Nitrogenous  substances,  flesh-forming  matter)* 11.1  4.0 

Non-nitrogenous  substances 73.3  74.9 

Mineral  matter,  (ash) 1.7  5.1 

100.0  100.0 

*  Containing  nitrogen 1.78  .64 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER.  139 


I 


"  The  ash  of  wheat  contains,  in  100  parts : 
i  Grain. 

Phosphoric  acid 50.0 

Sulphuric  acid 0.5 

Carbonic  acid 

Silica 2.5 

Lime 3.5 

Magnesia 11.5 

PoUsh 30.0 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  ii"on,  sand,  etc 2.0 


Total 100.0 


"  The  mean  produce  of  wheat,  per  acre,  may  he  estimated  at  25 
bushels,  which,  at  60  lbs.  per  bushel,  gives  1,500  lbs. ;  and  as  the 
weight  of  the  straw  is  generally  twice  that  of  the  grain,  its  pro- 
duce will  be  3,000  lbs.  According,  therefore,  to  the  preceding 
data,  there  will  be  carried  away  from  the  soil : 

In  1,500  lbs.  of  the  grain . .     25  lbs.  of  mineral  food,  (in  round  numbers). 
In  3,000  lbs.  of  the  straw. .  150  lbs.  of  mineral  food,  (in  round  numbers). 

Total 175  lbs. 

"  On  the  average  of  the  analyses,  it  will  be  found  that  the  com- 
position of  these  175  lbs.  is  as  follows: 

Total. 


Phosphoric  acid 12.5  lbs.  7.5  lbs.  20.0  lbs. 

Sulphuric  acid 0.1    "  |    4.0    "          4.1    ' 

Carbonic  acid. 

Silica 0.0    "  100.5    "  101.1 

Lime 0.9    "  \    8.2    "          9.1 

Magnesia 2.9    "  3.0    '•          .5.9 

Potash T.5    "  I  19.5    "  27.0 

Soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  oxide  of  iron,  sand,  etc.!  0.5    "  7.3    "         7.8 

175.  lbs: 


In  the 

In  tJie 

gram. 

straw. 

12.5  lbs. 

7.5  lbs. 

0.1    " 

4.0    " 

0.0    " 

100.5    " 

0.9    " 

8.2     " 

2.9    " 

3.0    '• 

7.5    " 

19.5     " 

0.5    " 

7.3     " 

2.-J.  lbs. 

150.  lbs. 

"  The  total  quantity  of  ash  constituents  carried  off  the  land,  in  an 
average  crop  of  wheat,  thus  amounts  to  only  175  lbs.  per  acre, 
whilst  a  good  crop  of  clover  removes  as  much  as  672  lbs. 

"  Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  total  amount  of  mineral  in  the  grain  and 
straw  of  one  acre  of  wheat,  consists  of  silica,  of  which  there  is  an 
ample  supply  in  almost  every  soil.  The  restoration  of  silica,  there- 
fore, need  not  trouble  ns  in  any  way,  especially  as  there  is  not  a 
single  instance  on  record,  proving  that  silica,  even  in  a  soluble 
condition,  has  ever  been  applied  to  land,  with  the  slightest  advan- 
tage to  corn,  or  grass-crops,  which  are  rich  in  silica,  and  which,  for 
this  reason,  may  be  assumed  to  be  pai'tieularly  grateful  for  it  in  a 
soluble  state.  Silica,  indeed,  if  at  all  capable  of  producing  a  bene- 
ficial effect,  ought  to  be  useful  to  these  crops,  either  by  strengthen- 
Uig  the  straw,  or  stems  of  graminaceous  plants,  or  otherwise  hene- 
Iting  them;  but,  after  deducting  the  amount  of  silica  from  the 


140  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

total  aiiKJiint  of  mineral  matters  in  the  wheat  produced  from  one 
acre,  only  a  trifling  quantity  of  other  and  more  valuable  fertilizing 
ash  constituents  of  plants  will  be  left.  On  comparing  the  relative 
amounts  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  in  an  average  crop  of 
wheat,  and  a  good  crop  of  clover-hay,  it  will  be  seen  that  one  acre 
of  clover-hay  contains  as  much  phosphoric  acid,  as  two  and  one- 
half  acres  of  wheat,  and  as  much  potasb  as  the  produce  from  five 
acres  of  the  same  crop.  Clover  thus  unquestionably  removes  from 
the  land  very  much  more  mineral  matter  than  does  wbeat ;  wheat, 
notwithstanding,  succeeds  remarkably  well  after  clover. 

"  Four  tons  of  clover -hay,  or  the  produce  of  an  acre,  contains,  as 
already  stated,  224  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  or  calculated  as  ammonia, 
272  lbs. 

"  Assuming  the  grain  of  wheat  to  furnish  1.78  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
and  wheat-straw,  .64  per  cent,  and  assuming  also  that  1,500  lbs.  of 
corn,  and  3,000  lbs.  of  straw,  represent  the  average  produce  per 
acre,  there  will  be  in  the  grain  of  wheat,  per  acre,  26.7  lbs.  of  nitro- 
gen, and  in  the  straw,  19.2  lbs.,  or  in  both  together,  46  lbs.  of 
nitrogen ;  in  round  numbers,  equal  to  about  55  lbs.  of  ammonia, 
which  is  only  about  one-fifth  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  pro- 
duce of  an  acre  of  clover.  Wheat,  it  is  well  known,  is  specially 
benefited  by  the  application  of  nitrogenous  manures,  and  as 
clover  carries  off  so  large  a  quantity  of  nitrogen,  it  is  natural  to 
expect  the  yield  of  wheat,  after  clover,  to  fall  sliort  of  what  the 
land  might  be  presumed  to  produce  without  manure,  before  a  crop 
of  clover  was  taken  from  it.  Experience,  however,  has  proved 
the  fallacy  of  tliis  presumption,  for  the  result  is  exactly  the  oppo- 
site, inasmuch  as  a  better  and  heavier  crop  of  wheat  is  produced 
than  without  the  intercalation  of  clover.  What,  it  may  be  asked, 
is  the  explanation  of  this  apparent  anomaly  ? 

"In  taking  up  this  inquiry,  I  was  led  to  pass  in  review  the  cele- 
brated and  highly  important  experiments,  undertaken  by  Mr. 
Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert,  on  the  continued  growth  of  wheat  on  the 
same  soil,  for  a  long  succession  of  years,  and  to  examine,  likewise 
carefully,  many  points,  to  which  attention  is  drawn,  by  the  same 
authors  in  their  memoirs  on  the  growth  of  red  clover  by  different 
manures,  and  on  the  Lois  Wcedon  plan  of  growing  wheat.  Abun- 
dant and  most  convincing  evidence  is  supplied  by  these  indefatiga- 
ble experimenters,  that  the  wheat-producing  powers  of  a  soil  are 
not  increased  in  any  sensible  degree  by  the  liberal  supply  of  all 
the  mineral  matters,  which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  ash  of 
wheat,  and  that  the  abstraction  of  these  mineral  matters  from  the 
soil,  in  any  much  larger  proportions  than  can  possibly  take  place 


EXPERIMENTS    ON   CLOVEK.  141 

Under  ordinary  cultivation,  in  no  wise  affects  the  yield  of  wiicat, 
provided  there  be  at  the  same  time  a  liberal  supply  of  available 
nitrogen  within  the  soil  itself.  The  amount  of  the  latter,  there- 
fore, is  regarded  by  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  as  the  measure  of 
the  increased  produce  of  grain  which  a  soil  furnishes. 

"  In  confornut3"  with  these  views,  the  farmer,  when  he  wishes  to 
increase  the  yield  of  his  wheat,  finds  it  to  bis  advantage  to  have 
recourse  to  ammoiiiacal,  or  other  nitrogenous  manures,  and  depends 
more  or  less  entirely  upon  the  soil,  for  the  supply  of  the  ncccessary 
mineral  or  ash-constituents  of  wheat,  having  found  such  a  supply 
to  be  amply  sufficient  for  his  requirements.  As  far,  therefore,  as 
the  removal  from  the  soil  of  a  large  amount  of  mineral  soil-constitu- 
ents, by  the  clover-crop,  is  concerned,  the  fact  viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  Rothamsted  experiments,  becomes  at  once  intelligible  ;  for, 
notwithstanding  the  abstraction  of  over  600  lbs.  of  mineral  matter 
by  a  crop  of  clover,  the  succeeding  wheat-crop  docs  not  suflfer. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  that  not  only  much  mineral 
matter  is  carried  off  the  land  in  a  crop  of  clover,  but  also  much 
nitrogen,  we  might,  in  the  absence  of  direct  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary, be  led  to  suspect  that  wheat,  after  clover,  would  not  be  a 
good  crop;  whereas,  the  fact  is  exactly  the  reverse. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  nitrogenous  manures,  which  have 
such  a  marked  and  beneficial  effect  upon  wheat,  do  no  good,  but 
in  certain  combinations,  in  some  seasons,  do  positive  harm  to 
clover.  Thus,  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  in  a  series  of  experi- 
ments on  the  growth  of  red-clover,  by  different  manures,  obtained 
14  tons  of  fresh  green  produce,  equal  to  about  three  and  three- 
fourths  tons  of  clover  hay,  from  the  unmanured  portion  of  the 
experimental  field ;  and  where  sulphates  of  potash,  soda,  and  mag- 
nesia, or  sulphate  of  potash  and  superpliosphate  of  lime  were  em- 
ployed, 17  to  18  tons,  (equal  to  from  about  four  and  one-half  to 
nearly  five  tons  of  hay),  were  obtained.  When  salts  of  ammonia 
were  added  to  the  mineral  manures,  the  produce  of  clover-hay  was, 
upon  the  whole,  less  than  where  the  mineral  manures  were  used 
alone.  The  wheat,  grown  after  the  clover,  on  the  unmanured  plot, 
gave,  however,  29^  bushels  of  corn,  whilst  in  the  adjoining  field, 
where  wheat  was  grown  after  wheat,  without  manure,  only  15| 
bushels  of  corn  per  acre  were  obtained.  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert 
notice  especially,  that  in  the  clover-crop  of  the  preceding  year, 
very  much  larger  quantities,  both  of  mineral  matters  and  of 
nitrogen,  w^ere  taken  from  the  land,  than  were  removed  in  the 
unmanured  wheat-crop  in  the  same  year,  in  the  adjoining  field. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  soil   from  which  the  clover  had  been 


142  TALKS    OX    MAXURES. 

taken,  was  in  a  condition  to  yield  14  bushels  more  wheat,  per  acre, 
tiian  tliat  upon  wliicii  wheat  had  been  prcviousl}' grown  ;  the  yield 
of  wheat,  after  clover,  in  these  experiments,  being  fully  equal  to 
that  in  another  field,  wiiere  large  quantities  of  manure  were  used. 

"  Taking  all  these  circumstances  into  account,  is  there  not  pre- 
sumptive evidence,  that,  notwithstanding  the  removal  of  a  large 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  clover-hay,  an  abundant  store  of  availa- 
ble nitrogen  is  left  in  the  soil,  and  also  that  in  its  relations  towards 
nitrogen  in  the  soil,  clover  differs  essentially  from  wheat  ?  The 
results  of  our  experience  in  the  growth  of  the  two  crops,  appear 
to  indicate  that,  whereas  the  growtli  of  the  wheat  rapidly  ex- 
hausts the  land  of  its  availal)le  nitrogen,  tiiat  of  clover,  on  the 
contrary,  tends  somehow  or  other  to  accimiulate  nitrogen  witliin 
the  soil  itself.  If  tliis  can  be  shown  to  be  the  case,  an  intelligible 
explanation  of  the  fact  that  clover  is  so  useful  as  a  preparatory  crop 
for  wheat,  will  be  found  in  the  circumstance,  that,  during  the 
growth  of  clover,  niliojrenous  food,  for  which  wlieat  is  particularly 
grateful,  is  eitlier  stored  up  or  rendered  available  in  the  soil. 

"An  explanation,  however  plausible,  can  hardly  be  accepted  as 
correct,  if  ba.sed  mainly  on  data,  which,  although  highly  probable, 
are  not  jiroved  to  be  based  on  fact.  In  chemical  inquiries, 
especially,  nothing  must  l)e  taken  for  granted,  that  has  not  been 
proved  by  direct  experiment.  The  following  questions  naturally 
suggest  themselves  in  reference  to  this  subject:  "What  is  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  soils  of  different  characters?  What  is  the 
a:nount  more  particularly  after  a  good,  and  after  an  indiirerentcrop 
of  clover?  Why  is  tiie  amount  of  nitrogen  in  soils,  larger  after 
clover,  than  after  wheat  and  other  crops?  Is  tlie  nitrogen  i)rcsent 
in  a  condition  in  which  il  is  available  and  useful  to  wheat?  And 
lastly,  are  there  any  other  circumstances,  apart  from  tlie  supply  of 
nitrogenous  matter  in  the  soil,  whicii  help  to  account  for  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  clover  as  a  prejiaralory  crop  for  wheat  ? 

"  In  order  to  throw  some  light  on  these  questions,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  give  distinct  answers  to  at  least  some  of  them,  I,  years 
ago,  when  residing  at  Cirencester,  began  a  series  of  experiments; 
and  more  recently,  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  the  co- 
operation of  ]Mr.  Roliert  Valentine,  of  Leighton  Buzzard,  who 
kindly  undertook  to  supply  me  with  materials  for  my  analysis. 

"  My  first  experiments  were  made  on  a  thin,  calcareous,  clay  soil, 
resting  on  oolitic  limestone,  and  producing  gencrallv  a  fair  crop  of 
red-clover.  The  clover-tield  formed  tlie  slope  of  a  rather  steep 
hillock,  and  varied  much  in  depth.  At  the  top  of  the  hill,  tlie  soil 
became  very  stony  j^t  a  depth  of  four  inches,  so  that  it  could  only 


EXPKKI.MKNTS    ON   CLOVKK.  143 

with  diffirulty  be  excavated  to  a  deptli  of  six  inches,  when  Uw  bare 
limestone-rock  niatle  it^:  appearance.  At  the  bottom  of  tlie  titld 
the  soil  was  much  deeper,  and  tiie  clover  stronger,  than  at  tiie  iij)pcr 
part.  On  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover  aj)iKared  to  |»e 
strontr,  a  square  yard  was  measured  out  ;  and  at  a  little  distance  oil', 
where  the  clover  was  very  l>ad,  a  second  square  yard  was  nieas- 
ureil;  in  l)oth  plots,  the  soil  being  taken  up  to  a  depth  of  six 
inches.  The  ^oil,  where  the  clover  was  <?ood,  may  be  di.'Jtinguished 
from  the  other,  by  being  marked  as  No.  1,  and  that  where  it  was 
bad,  as  No.  2. 

CLOVERSOIL    NO.    1.     (GOOD    CLOVErv). 

"The  roi>ts  having  first  been  shaken  out  to  free  them  as  much 
as  possible  from  the  soil,  were  then  waslicd  once  or  twice  with  cold 
distilled  water,  and,  after  having  been  dried  for  a  little  while  in  the 
sun,  were  weighed,  when  the  scpiarc  yard  produced  1  lb.  lOi  oz. 
of  c'eaned  clover-roots,  in  an  air-dry  stitc ;  an  acre  of  land,  or 
4,840  square  yards,  accordingly  yielded,  in  a  depth  of  six  inches, 
3.44  tons,  or  ;U  tons  in  round  nuudtcrs,  of  dovcr-roots. 

"  Fully  dried  in  a  water-batii,  the  roots  were  found  to  contain 
altogether  44. G7  i»cr  cent  of  water,  and  on  btiiig  burnt  in  a  pla- 
tinum capsule,  yi<  Idrd  O.OSi)  of  ash.  A  portion  of  the  dried,  finely 
powdered  and  wi  11  nuxed  roots,  was  b.inud  witii  soda  lime,  in  a 
combustion  tube,  and  the  nitrogen  contained  in  the  roots  otliL-r- 
wisc  determined  in  t!:e  usual  way.  Accordingly,  the  following 
is  the  general  composition  of  the  roots  from  the  soil  No.  1 : 

Water 44.075 

Or;janic  matter*     4y.'.:36 

Mineral  matter 6.089 

~100.000 

*  Containuig  nitroL'cn 1.297 

Equal  to  ammonia 1.575 

"  Assuming  the  whole  field  to  have  produced  3i  tons  of  clover- 
roots,  per  acre,  there  will  be  99.636  lbs.,  or  in  round  immbers,  100 
lbs.  of  nitrogen  in  the  clover-roots  from  one  acre ;  or,  about  twice 
as  nmch  nitrogen  as  is  present  in  the  average  produce  of  an  acre 
of  wheat." 

"That  is  a  remarkable  fact,"  said  the  Deacon,  "as  I  understand 
nitrogen  is  the  great  thing  needed  by  wheat,  and  j^et  the  ?y/ci<s  alone 
of  the  clover,  contain  twice  as  much  nitrogen  as  an  average  crop 
of  wheat.     Go  on  Charley,  it  is  quite  interesting." 

"The  soil,"  continues  Dr.  Voelcker,  "which  had  been  separated 
from  the  roots,  was  passed  through  a  sieve  to  deprive  it  of  any 
stones  it  might  contain.    It  was  then  partially  dried,  and  the  nitro 


144  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

gen  in  it  determined  in  the  usual  manner,  by  combustion  with  soda- 
lime,  when  it  yielded  .313  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  equal  to  .38  of 
ammonia,  in  one  combustion;  and  .373  per  cent  of  nitro_; en, equal 
to  .46  of  ammonia,  in  a  second  determination. 

"  That  the  reader  may  have  some  idea  of  the  character  of  this 
soil,  it  may  be  stated,  that  it  was  further  submitted  to  a  general 
analysis,  according  to  which,  it  was  found  to  have  the  following 
composition : 
GENERAL    COMPOSITION    OF    SOIL,   NO.   1.    (GOOD    CLOVER). 

Moisture 18.73 

Orijanic  matter* 9.72 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 13.'J4 

Carbonate  of  lime 8.82 

Magnesia,  alkalies,  etc 1.72 

Insoluble  silicious  matter,  (chiefly  clay) 47.77 

100.(10 


*  Containing  nitrogen 313 

Equal  to  ammonia 380 

"Tlie  second  square  yard  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  wliere  the 
clover  was  bad,  produced  13  ounces  of  ar-dry,  and  partially  clean 
roots,  or  1.75  tons  per  acre.  On  analysis,  they  were  found  to  have 
the  following  composition : 

CLOVER-ROOTS,    NO.   2.    (BAD    CLOVER). 

Water 5.5.733 

Oriranic  matter* 39.408 

Mineral  matter,  (ash) 4.860 

~100.006 

*  Containing  nitrogen 793 

Equal  to  ammonia 901 

"  The  roots  on  the  spot  wliere  the  clover  was  very  bad,  yielded 
only  31  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  or  scarcely  one-third  of  the 
quantity  wlucli  was  obtained  from  tlic  roots  where  the  clover  was 
good. 

"  The  soil  from  tlie  second  square  yard,  on  analy.sis,  was  found, 
when  freed  from  stones  by  sifting,  to  contain  in  100  parts: 
COMPOSITION    OF  SOIL,    NO.    3.    (BAD    CLOVER). 

Water 17.34 

Organic  matter* 9.64 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 11.89 

Carbonate  of  lime 14.50 

Magnesia,  alkalies,  etc 1.53 

Insoluble  silicious  matter 45.20 

100.00 


2d  deter- 
mination. 

*  ContaininLr  nitrogen .306  .380 

Equal  to  ammonia , 370  .470 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER.  145 

"  Both  portions  of  the  clover-soil  thus  contained  about  the  same 
percentage  of  organic  matter,  and  yielded  nearly  the  same  amount 
of  nitrogen. 

"  In  addition,  however,  to  the  nitrogen  in  the  clover-roots,  a 
good  deal  of  nitrogen,  in  the  shape  of  root-fibres,  decayed  leaves, 
and  similar  organic  matters,  was  disseminated  throughout  the  fine 
soil  in  which  it  occurred,  and  from  which  it  could  not  be  sepa- 
rated ;  but  unfortunately.  I  neglected  to  weigh  the  soil  from  a 
square  yard,  and  am,  therefore,  unable  to  state  how  much  nitrogen 
per  acre  was  i^resent  in  the  shape  of  small  root-fibres  and  other 
organic  matters. 

"Before  mentioning  the  details  of  the  experiments  made  in  the 
next  season,  I  will  here  give  the  composition  of  the  ash  of  the  par- 
tially cleaned  clover-roots : 

COMPOSITION    OF    ASH    OF    CLOVER-ROOTS,  (PARTIALLY 
CLEANED). 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 11.73 

Lime 18.49 

Mae7iesia 3.0:^ 

Potash 6.88 

Soda 1.9:3 

Phosphoric  acid 3.61 

Suli)huric  acid  3.24 

Soluble  silica 19.01 

Insoluble  silicious  matter 24.83 

Carbonic  acid,  chlorine,  and  loss 8.25 

lOO.OJJ 


"This  ash  was  obtained  from  clover-roots,  which  yielded,  when 
perfectly  dry,  in  round  numbers,  eight  per  cent  of  ash.  Clover- 
roots,  washed  quite  clean,  and  separated  from  all  soil,  yield  about 
five  per  cent  of  ash ;  but  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  clean  a  large 
quantity  of  fibrous  roots  from  all  dirt,  and  the  preceding  analysis 
distinctly  shows,  that  the  ash  of  the  clover-roots,  analyzed  by  me, 
was  mechanically  mixed  with  a  good  deal  of  fine  soil,  for  oxide  of 
u'on,  and  alumina,  and  insoluble  silicious  matter  in  any  quantity, 
are  not  normal  constituents  of  plant-ashes.  Making  allowance  for 
soil  contamination,  the  ash  of  clover-roots,  it  will  be  noticed,  con- 
tains much  lime  and  potash,  as  well  as  an  appreciable  amount  of 
phosphoric  and  sulphuric  acid.  On  the  decay  of  the  clover-roots, 
these  and  other  mineral  fertilizing  matters  are  left  in  the  surface- 
soil  in  a  readily  available  condition,  and  in  considerable  propor- 
tions, when  the  clover  stands  well.  Although  a  crop  of  clover 
removes  much  mineral  matter  from  the  soil,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  that  its  roots  extract  from  the  land,  soluble  mineral  fertiliz- 

7 


146  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

ing  matters,  which,  on  the  decay  of  the  roots,  remain  in  the  land 
in  a  prepared  and  more  readily  available  form,  than  that  in  which 
they  originally  occur.  The  benefits  arising  to  wheat,  from  the 
growth  of  clover,  may  thus  be  due  partly  to  this  prcpaiaiion  and 
concentration  of  mineral  food  in  the  surface-soil. 

"  The  clover  on  the  hillside  field,  on  the  whole,  turned  out  a 
very  good  crop ;  and,  as  the  plant  stood  the  winter  well,  and  this 
field  was  left  another  season  in  clover,  without  being  plowed  up,  I 
availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  making,  during  the  following 
season,  a  number  of  experiments  similar  to  those  of  the  preceding 
year.  This  time,  however,  I  selected  for  examination,  a  square 
yard  of  soil,  from  a  spot  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover 
was  tiiin,  and  the  soil  itself  stony  at  a  depth  of  four  inches;  and 
another  plot  of  one  sciuare  yard  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  from  a 
phice  where  the  clover  was  stronger  than  that  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  and  the  soil  at  a  depth  of  six  inches  contained  no  large  stones. 

SOIL   NO.    1.  (CLOVER   THIN),  ON   THE   BROW  OF   THE  HILL. 

"  The  roots  in  a  square  3'anl,  six  inches  deep,  when  picked  out 
by  hand,  and  cleaned  as  much  as  possible,  weighed,  in  their  natural 
state,  2  lbs.  11  oz.  ;  and  when  dried  on  the  top  of  a  water-bath,  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  them  brittle  and  fit  for  reduction  into  fine 
powder,  1  lb.  13  oz.  31  grains.  In  this  state  they  were  submitted 
as  before  to  analysis,  when  they  yielded  in  100  parts : 

COMPOSITION  OF    CLOVER-ROOTS,    NO.    1,    (FROM    BROW  OF 

HILL). 

Moisture 4.34 

Organic  matter* 26.53 

Mineral  matter 69.13 

'  100."00 

*  Containing  nitrogen , 816 

Equal  to  ammonia 991 

"  According  to  these  data,  an  acre  of  land  will  yield  three  tons 
12  cwts.  of  nearly  dry  clover-roots,  and  in  this  quantity  there  will 
be  about  66  lbs.  of  nitrogen.  The  whole  of  the  soil  from  which 
the  roots  have  been  picked  out,  was  passed  through  a  half-inch 
sieve.  The  stones  left  in  the  sieve  weighed  141  lbs. ;  the  soil 
which  passed  through  weighing  218  lbs. 

"  The  soil  was  next  dried  by  artificial  heat,  when  the  218  lbs. 
became  reduced  to  185.487  lbs. 

•*  In  this  partially  dried  state  it  contained : 


BXPEKIMENTS    ON   CLOVER.  147 

Moisture 4.21 

Organic  matter* 9.78 

Mineral  matter^ 86.01 

"100.00 

*  Containing  nitrogen 391 

£(}ual  to  ammonia 475 

+  Including  phosphoric  acid 264 

"  I  also  determined  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  ash  of  the  clover- 
roots.  Calculated  for  the  roots  m  a  nearly  dry  state,  the  phos- 
phoric acid  amounts  to  .287  per  cent. 

"  An  acre  of  soil,  according  to  the  data,  furnished  by  the  six 
inches  on  the  spot  where  the  clover  was  thin,  produced  the  follow- 
ing quantity  of  nitrogen : 

Ton.  Cwts.  Lbs. 

Intheflnesoil 1  H        33 

In  the  clover-roots _0_   0      _66 

Total  quantity  of  nitrogen  per  acre 1  ll        99 

"  The  organic  matter  in  an  acre  of  this  soil,  which  can  not  be 
picked  out  by  hand,  it  will  be  seen,  contains  an  enormous 
quantity  of  nitrogen ;  and  although,  probably,  the  greater  part  of 
the  roots  and  other  remains  from  the  clover-crop  may  not  be  de- 
composed so  thoroughly  as  to  yield  nitrogenous  food  to  the  suc- 
ceeding wheat-crop,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  a  considerable 
quantity  of  nitrogen  will  become  available  by  the  time  the  wheat 
is  sown,  and  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  clover  benefits  the 
succeeding  wheat-crop,  is  to  be  found  in  the  abundant  supply  of 
available  nitrogenous  food  furnished  by  the  decaying  clover-roots 
and  leaves. 

CLOVER-SOIL    NO.    2,    FROM    THE    BOTTOM    OF    THE    HILL. 
(GOOD    CLOVER.) 

"  A  square  yard  of  the  soil  from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  where 
the  clover  was  stronger  than  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  produced  2 
lbs.  8  oz.  of  fresh  clover-roots ;  or  1  lb.  11  oz.  47  grains  of  par- 
tially dried  roots;  61  lbs.  9  dz.  of  limestones,  and  289.96  lbs.  of 
nearly  dry  soil. 

"  The  partially  dried  roots  contained : 

Moisture .5.06 

Organic  matter* !!!'.!....*!!..!!..!!'..'."!!*."..*,*.!!     81.94 

Mineral  matter '. '.     63.00 

logoo 

*  Containing  nitrogen .804 

"  An  acre  of  this  soil,  six  inches  deep,  produced  3  tons,  7  cwts. 
65  lbs.  of  clover-roots,  containing  61  Iba.  of  nitrogen;  that  is,  there 


I4d  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

was  very  nearly  tlie  same  quantity  of  roots  and  nitrogen  in  them, 
as  That  furnished  in  ihe  soil  from  the  brow  of  the  hUl. 

'■  The  roots,  moreover,  yielded  .365  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid ; 
or,  calculiited  per  acre,  27  lbs. 

"  In  ihc  partially  diied  soil,  I  found  : 

Moisture 4.70 

Organic  icatLer* 10.87 

*lhicral  matteit 84.43 

KKJ.UO 

* Coutainiug  nitrogen 405 

Equal  lu  ammonia 491 

t  Including  phosphoric  acid 321 

"  According  to  these  determinations,  an  acre  of  soil  from  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  contains: 

Tom.  Cwtx.  Lbs. 

Nitrogen  in  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil 2         2  0 

Nitrogen  ill  clover-roots  of  the  soil _^_    _^^  _^^ 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  per  acre 2^       2  61 

"  Compared -with  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  from  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  about  11  cwt.  more  nitrogen  was  obtained  in  the 
soil  and  roots  from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  where  the  clover  was 
more  luxuriant. 

"  The  increased  amount  of  nitrogen  occurred  in  fine  root-fibres 
and  other  organic  mattei-s  of  the  soil,  and  not  in  the  coarser  bits  of 
roots  which  were  picked  out  by  the  hand.  It  may  be  assumed 
that  the  liner  particles  of  organic  matter  are  more  readily  decom- 
pose 1  than  the  coarser  roots;  and  as  there  was  a  larger  amount  of 
nitrogen  in  this  than  in  the  preceding  soil,  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  land  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  after  removal  of  the  clover,  was 
in  a  better  agricultural  condition  for  wheal,  tlvan  that  on  the  brow 
of  the  hill. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  149 


CHAPTER     XXV  T. 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS    FROM    BURCOTT 
LODGE    FARM,    LEIGUTON    BUZZARD. 

"  The  soils  for  the  uext  experimeuts,  were  kindly  supplied  to  me, 
in  1866,  by  Robert  Valentine,  of  Burcott  Lodge,  who  also  sent  me 
some  notes  respecting  the  growth  and  yidd  of  clover-hay  ami  seed 
on  this  soil. 

"  Foreign  seed,  at  the  rate  of  12  lbs.  per  acre,  was  sown  with  a 
crop  of  wheat,  which  yielded  live  quarters  per  acre  the  previous 
year. 

•'  The  first  crop  of  clover  was  cut  down  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1866,  and  carried  on  June  30th.  The  weather  was  very  warm, 
from  the  tune  of  cutting  until  the  clover  was  carted,  the  thermome- 
ter standing  at  80  Fahr.  every  day.  The  clover  was  turned  in  the 
swath,  on  the  second  day  after  it  was  cut;  on  the  fourth  day,  it 
was  turned  over  and  put  into  small  heaps  of  about  10  lbs.  each; 
and  on  the  fifth  day,  these  were  collected  into  larger  cocks,  and 
then  stacked. 

"  The  best  part  of  an  11-acre  field,  produced  nearly  three  tons  of 
clover-hay,  sun-dried,  per  acre ;  the  whole  field  yielding  on  an  aver- 
age, 2^  tons  per  acre.  This  result  was  obtained  b}^  weighing  the 
stack  three  months  after  the  clover  was  carted.  The  second  crop 
was  cut  on  the  21st  of  August,  and  carried  on  the  27th,  the  weight 
being  nearly  30  cvvt.  of  hay  per  acre.  Thus  the  two  cuttings  pro- 
duced just  about  four  tons  of  clover-hay  per  acre. 

"  The  11  acres  were  divided  into  two  parts.  Al/out  one-half  was 
mown  for  haj^  a  second  time,  and  the  other  part  left  for  seed.  The 
produce  of  the  second  half  of  tlie  11-acre  field,  was  cut  on  the  8th 
of  October,  and  carried  on  the  lOlh.  It  yielded  in  round  numbers, 
3  cwt.  of  clover-seed  per  acre,  the  season  being  very  unfavorable 
for  clover-seed.  The  second  crop  of  clover,  mown  for  hay,  was 
.'•ather  too  ripe,  and  just  beginning  to  show  seed. 

"  A  square  foot  of  soil,  18  inches  deep,  was  dug  from  the  second 
portion  of  the  land  which  produced  the  clover-hay  and  clover- 
seed. 

SOIL  FROM  .^ARl'  OF  11-ACRE  FIELD  TWICE  MOWN  FOR  HAT. 

"The  upper  six  inches  of  soil,  one  foot  square,  contained  all  the 
main  roots  ov  18  strong  plants ;  the  next  six  inches,  only  small 
root  fibres,  and  in  the  third  section,  a  six-inch  slice  cut  down  at  a 


150 


TALKS    ON    MANLKES. 


depth  of  12  inches  from  the  surface,  no  distinct  fibres  could  be 
found.  The  soil  was  uhnost  i()ini)letely  saturated  with  ralu  wheu 
it  was  dug  up  on  the  loth  of  S.-picinber,  18GG: 

IM. 

The  upper  six  iuches  of  soil,  out-  foot  square,  weighed 00 


The  second 
The  third 


"Tlicse  tliree  portions  of  one  foot  of  soil,  18  inches  deep,  were 
dried  nearly  completely,  and  weighed  again;  wht-n  the  tirst  six 
inches  weiirhed  r»^  lbs. ;  the  second  six  iuches,  51  lbs.  5  oz.  ;  and 
tin-  third  .seetion,  54  lbs.  2  oz. 

"The  first  si.x  inches  contained  3  lbs.  of  silicious  stones,  (flints), 
which  were  rejected  in  preparing  a  sample  for  analysis;  in  the 
two  remaining  sections  there  were  no  large  sized  stones.  The  soils 
were  pounded  flown,  and  pa-i^seil  through  a  wire  sieve. 

"The  three  layers  of  soli,  dried  and  reduced  to  jHiwder,  were 
mixed  together,  and  a  prepared  average  sample,  when  submitted 
to  analysis,  yielded  thi-  following  results: 

COMPOSITION    OF    CLOVKKSOIL,    IS    INCMKS    DKKP.     FROM 
PART  OF    11  ACRE    FIELD,   TWICE   MOWN    FOR  llAY. 

'Orjjanic  matter 5.H6 

Oxides  of  iron 6.83 

Aliimhia 7.12 

(nrlionatc  of  lime 2.\'A 

Soliihle    in     hy-     Ma'^iiesia 'i.Ol 

drochloric  aciil.  "j  Potash ri7 

Soda 08 

Chloride  of  sodium 02 

Ptio<l>lioric  acid  IK 

Sulphuric  acid  17 

Insoluble  silicious  matter,  74.01.  Consisting  of  : 

.\luraina 4.87 

Lime,  ( in  a  state  of  silicate) 4.07 

Insoluble  in  acid  ;  .Mainiesia 46 

Potash .ly 

.Soda 2,S 

SiUca '..!'.!  65.1J9 

99.68 

"This  soil.  It  will  bo  seen,  contained,  in  appreciable  quantities, 
not  only  potash  and  phos|)horie  acid,  but  all  tin-  elements  of  fertil- 
ity which  enter  into  the  composition  of  good  arable  land.  It  may 
be  briefly  described  as  a  stiff  clay  soil,  containing  a  s>ifflciency  of 
lime,  potash,  and  phosphoric  acid,  to  meet  all  the  re(|uirement8  of 
the  elovor-crop.  Originally,  r;)th<r  unproductive,  it  has  l)een  nuich 
improved  by  deep  culture  ;  by  bring  smashed  up  into  ron.rb  clods, 
early  In  autumn,  and  by  boiivir  exposed  in  tliis  state  to  the  crum- 
bling effects  of  the  air,  It  now  yields  good  com  and  forage  crops. 


EXPEBIMKNTS    ON    CLOVKR-80ILB.  151 

"In  ttcparulc  purlioiis  u£  ihc  liircf  lasers  uf  soil,  tbr  propuriious 
jf  iiilruj;fu  Mid  phospliDric  acid  cuiiluiiieii  iu  ciicli  layer  of  six 
iiiclied,  were  delcrmiued  aiid  fouud  U>  be  as  follows : 

isuU  drUil  at  212  dty.  Falir, 
Ixt  six  2</  six  '6d  mx 
inc/ifji.     inr/us.  iiichts. 

Percentage  of  phospboric  acid 'M'J        A'-A         .1?- 

Nilrn;,au l.»>'-  .tH'2  .004 

K(juiil  li>  auiiuouia l'.»8        .112  .078 

"  lu  the  upiHT  si.\  iiKbcs,  us  will  be  seen,  tbe  percenUiije  of  botb 
pbospborie  acid  and  nitrogen,  was  larger  than  iu  the  two  follow- 
ing layers,  wbile  tbe  proportion  <»f  nitrogen  in  tbe  six  iiiebes  of  sur- 
face soil,  was  niucb  larger  than  in  iIk-  next  six  incbes;  and  in  Ibe 
tliird  s(Htion,  containing  no  visible  particles  of  root  tilires,  only 
very  little  nitrogen  occurred. 

■'  In  Ibeir  natural  slate,  tbe  tbree  layers  of  soil  contained  : 

1st  xix     2</  six     3</  .til 
inrhe.^.     inrhes.    inr/iejt. 

Moisture 17.lt;      18.24        lt;.«2 

PlK.sphi.ric  acid I'.W        .109  .143 

Nitn.p.n VM        .075  .053 

Equal  to  ammonia Itii        .091  .064 

lbs.  lbs.  lbs. 

Weight  of  one  foot  square  of  soil tX)  01  <J3 

"Calculated  per  acre,  tbe  absolute  weiglit  of  one  acre  of  tbis 
land,  six  incbes  deep,  weigbs : 

TJjs. 

let  six  inches 2,618,600 

2d  six  inches 2,657,160 

3d  six  inches 2,746,280 

"No  great  error,  therefore,  will  be  made,  if  we  assume  in  the 
sulxsequent  calculations,  that  six  incbes  of  this  soil  weigbs  two  and 
one-balf  millions  of  pounds  per  acre. 

"  An  acre  of  land,  according  to  tbe  preceding  determinations, 
contains : 

1«/  six  incites,  2cl  six  incfie.'i,  Zd  six  inches^ 
Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Phosphoric  acid 4,950  2,?25  8,575 

NitroiTcn 3..350  1.875  1,325 

Equal  to  ammonia 4,0.'jO  2.275  1.600 

"  Tbe  proportion  of  phosphoric  acid  in  six  inches  of  surface  soil, 
it  will  be  seen,  amounted  to  ;d)out  two-tcntbs  per  cent ;  a  propor- 
tion of  tbe  whole  soil,  so  small  that  it  may  appear  insufficient 
for  tbe  production  of  a  good  corn-crop.  However,  when  calcu- 
lated to  tlie  acre,  we  find  that  six  incbes  of  surface  soil  in  an  acre  of 
land,  actually  contain  over  two  tons  of  phosphoric  acid.  An  aver- 
age crop  of  wheat,  assumed  to  be  25  bushels  of  grain,  at  CO  lbs.  per 


152  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

bushel,  and  o,000  lbs.  of  straw,  removes  Irom  the  laud  on  which  it 
isgrown,  30  lbs.  of  phos|)horic  aeiil.  The  clover-soil  analyzed  by 
me,  eousequeutly  coutaius  aii  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  in  a 
depth  of  ouly  six  inches,  which  is  equal  to  that  present  in  247A 
average  crops  of  wheat;  or  supposing  that,  by  good  cultivation 
and  iu  favoral)le  seasons,  tiie  average  yield  of  wheat  could  be 
doubled,  and  5U  bushels  of  grain,  at  Hi)  lbs.  a  bushel,  and  G,000  lbs. 
of  straw  could  be  raised,  124  of  such  heavy  wheat-crops  would  con- 
tain no  more  phosphoric  acid  than  actually  occurred  in  six  inches 
of  this  clover-soil  per  acre. 

"  The  mere  presence  of  such  an  amount  of  jdiosphoric  acid  in  a 
soil,  however,  by  no  means  proves  its  sufliciency  for  tlie  produc- 
tion of  so  many  crops  of  wheat ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  can  not 
be  shown  that  the  whole  of  the  i)hosphoric  acid  found  by  analysis, 
occurs  in  the  soil  in  a  readily  available  combination  ;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  root  fibres  of  the  wlicat- 
plant  can  not  reach  and  p\ck  up,  so  to  speak,  every  particle  of 
phosphoric  acid,  even  suppc^sing  it  to  occur  in  the  soil  in  a  form 
most  conducive  to  '  ready  assimilation  by  the  plant.' 

"Tiie  calculation  is  not  givi-n  in  proof  of  a  conclusion  which 
would  be  manifestly  absurd,  but  simply  as  an  illustration  of  the 
enormous  quantity  in  an  acre  of  soil  six  inches  deep,  of  a  constitu- 
ent forming  the  smaller  proportions  of  the  whole  weight  of  an 
acre  of  soil  of  that  limited  depth.  It  shows  the  existence  of  a  prac- 
tically unlimited  amount  of  the  most  important  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  jilants,  and  dearly  points  out  the  pro]iriety  of  rendering 
availaitle  to  plants,  the  natural  resources  of  the  soil  in  plant- 
food  ;  to  draw,  in  fact,  up  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  soil,  by  thor- 
oughly working  the  land,  and  not  leaving  it  unutilized  as  so  much 
dead  capital." 

"  Good,"  said  tlie  Deacon,  "  that  is  the  right  doctrine." 

"  The  roots,"  continues  Dr.  Yoelcker,  "  from  one  square  foot  of 
soil  were  cleaned  as  much  as  possible,  dried  completely  at  212% 
and  in  that  state  weighed  240  grains.  An  acre  consequently  con- 
tained l,493i  lbs.  of  dried  clover- roots. 

"The  clover-roots  contained,  dried  at  212'  Fahr., 

Organic  matter* ^V^ 

Mineral  matter,t  (ash) 1^67 

100.00 

*  Yielding  nitrogen 1.6r5 

Equal  to  ammonia ^-^l^' 

flncluding  iusoluble  silicious  matter,  (clay  and  sand) 11.67 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CI.OVEU-SOILS.  158 

"Accordingly  tlio  clover-roots  in  an  acre  of  land  fiirnislu'd  24i 
lbs.  of  nilrogon.     We  have  thus: 

Lbx.  of 
nitrogen. 

In  the  six  inches  of  surface  soil "^'^i 

In  large  chjver-roots '^ 

In  second  six  indies  of  soil i,oi5 

Total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  jne  acre  of  soil  12  inches  deep 5,249i 

Equal  to  ammonia D,374i 

Or  in  round  numbers,  two  tons  six  cwt.  of  nitrogen  per  acre;  an 
enormous  quantity,  which  must  have  a  powerful  influence  in  en- 
couraging the  luxuriant  development  of  the  succeeding  wheat- 
crop,  although  only  a  fraction  of  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  in 
the  clover  remains  may  become  sufliciently  decomposed  in  time  to 
be  available  to  the  young  wheat-plants. 

CLOVER-SOIL  FROM   PART   OF    11-ACRE   FIELD  OF    BURCOTT 

LODGE     FARM,    LEKiUTON    BUZZARD,    ONCE     MOWN 

FOR  HAY,  AND  LEFT  AFTERWARD.S  FOR  SEED. 

"  Produce  2^  tons  of  clover-hay,  and  3  cwt.  of  seed  per  acre. 

"  This  soil  was  obtained  within  a  disUince  of  five  yards  from  the 
part  of  the  field  where  the  soil  was  dug  up  after  the  two  cuttings 
of  hay.  After  the  seed  there  was  some  difficulty  in  finding  a 
square  foot  containing  the  same  number  of  large  clover-roots,  as 
that  on  the  field  twice  mown  ;  however,  at  last,  in  the  beginning  of 
November,  a  square  foot  containing  exactly  18  strong  roots,  was 
found  and  dug  up  to  a  depth  of  18  inches.  The  soil  dug  after  the 
seed  was  much  drier  than  that  dug  after  the  two  cuttings  of  hay  : 

The  upper  six  inches  deep,  one  foot  square,  weighed 56  lbs. 

The  next  "  "  "         58     " 

Thethird         "  "  "        60    " 

"  After  drying  by  exposure  to  hot  air,  the  three  layers  of  soil 
weighed : 

The  upper  six  inches,  one  foot  square ....   . .    49i  lbs. 

The  next  "  "  50i    " 

Thethird         "  "  5U    " 


"  Equal  portions  of  the  dried  soil  from  each  six-inch  section 
were  mixed  together  and  reduced  to  a  fine  powder.  An  average 
sample  thus  prepared,  on  analysis,  was  found  to  have  the  follow- 
ing composition : 


ir)4 


TALKS    OX    MAVrRES. 


COMPOSITION  OF  CLOVER-SOIL  ONCE  MOWN  F(^K   IIAY,  AND 
AFTERWARDS   LEFT  FOR  SEED.     DRIED  AT  213    FAIIR. 


Soluble    in    hy 
drochloricacid. '  I'oUish 
Soda.. 


Organic  matter 

Oxides  of  iron 

Alumina  

Carlionate  of  lime. 
.Mairne'-ia 


Insoluble  in  acid 


Chloride  of  sodium 

l'ho!*|>lioric  acid 

,  SulpLuric  acid 

Insoluhlo  silioioufl  matter,  73.84.  ConsistinRof  : 

Alumina 

Lime  ( in  a  state  of  silieate) 

Magnesia 

Potash 

Soda 

L  Silica 


5.34 

0.07 

4.51 

7.51 

1.27 

.53 

.Iti 

.l« 

.15 

.I'J 

4.14 

3.69 

.68 

.34 

.21 

a5^88 

99:59 


'•  The  soil,  it  will  he  seen,  in  genornl  character,  resembles  the  pre- 
ceding sample;  it  contains  a  good  (leal  of  potash  and  phosplioric 
acid,  and  may  be  presumed  to  l)0  well  suited  to  the  growth  of 
clover.  It  contains  more  carbonate  of  lime,  and  is  somewhat 
lighter  than  tlie  .sainjile  from  the  part  of  the  field  twice  mown  for 
hay,  and  may  be  termed  heavy  calcareous  clay. 

"  An  acre  of  this  land,  18  inches  deep,  weighed,  when  very  nearly 

dry: 

Lb». 

Surface,  six  inches 2,407.900 

Next  "  2,444,300 

Third  "  2,480,.'J00 


"Or  in  round  numbers,  every  six  inches  of  soil  weighed  per 
acre  2i  millions  of  pounds,  which  agrees  tolerably  well  with  the 
actual  weight  j)er  acre  of  the  preceding  soil. 

"The  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  in  each  six-inch 
layer  was  determined  separately  as  before,  when  the  following 
results  were  obtained : 

IN    DRIED    SOIL. 

Find        Second        Third 
sir  inches,  air  inches,  sir  inches. 

Percentage  of  phosphoric  acid 151)  .166  .140 

Nitroffen 18'.t  .VM  .089 

Equal  to  ammonia 339  .163  .108 

"An  acre,  according  to  these  determinations,  contains  in  th» 
three  separate  sections : 


EXPBRIMKNTS    ON    (LOVER-SOILS.  155 

First         Sirtwif         Third 
sixinclus.  six  iiiclus.  six  inches. 

lbs.  Il>s.  lbs. 

Phosphoric  arid S/JT")  4,15()  3,500 

Nitrogen 4,725  3.;J.'>0  2:125 

Kqual  to  ariimoiiia 5,?^  4,a5(<  2,700 

"  Here,  again,  as  migLit  naturally  be  expected,  the  proportion  of 
nitrogen  is  largest  in  the  surface,  where  all  the  decaying  leaves 
driipped  during  llie  growth  of  the  clover  for  seed  are  found,  and 
wherein  root-tihres  are  more  abundant  than  in  the  lower  strata. 
TIjc  hrst  six  inches  of  soil,  it  will  be  seen,  contained  in  round 
nunibirs,  2i  tons  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  that  is,  considerably  more 
tiuin  was  found  in  the  same  section  of  the  soil  where  the  clover 
was  mown  twice  for  hay  ;  showing  plainly,  that  during  the  ripening 
of  the  clover  seid,  the  surface  is  niucii  enriched  Ijy  the  nitrogen- 
ous matter  in  the  dropping  h-aves  of  the  i^lover-plant. 

"  Clover-roots. — The  roots  from  one  square  foot  of  this  soil,  freed 
as  much  as  possible  from  adhering  soil,  were  dried  at  212',  and 
when  weighed  and  rcchiceil  to  a  line  powder,  gave,  on  analysis,  the 
following  results: 

Oganic  matter* 64.76 

Mineral  matterf _  35.24 

100.6(3 

•Containing  nitrogen 1.702 

Equal  to  ammonia 2.066 

t  Including  clay  and  sand  (insoluble  silicious  matter) 26.04 

*'  A  .square  foot  of  this  soil  jiroduced  582  grains  of  dried  clover- 
roots,  consequently-  an  acre  yielded  3,622  lbs.  of  roots,  or  more 
than  twice  the  weight  of  roots  ol)tain(Hl  from  the  soil  of  the  same 
field  where  the  clover  was  twice  mown  for  hay. 

"  In  round  numbers,  the  3,622  lbs.  of  clover-roots  from  the  land 
mown  once,  and  afterwards  left  for  seed,  contained  51^  lbs.  of 
nitrogen. 

"  The  roots  from  the  soil  after  clover-seed,  it  will  be  noticed, 
were  not  so  clean  as  the  preceding  sample,  nevertheless,  they 
jielded  more  nitrogen.  In  64.76  of  organic  matter,  we  have  here 
1.702  of  nitrogen,  whereas,  in  the  case  of  the  roots  from  the  part 
of  the  field  where  the  clover  was  twice  mown  for  hay,  we  have  in 
81.33  parts,  that  is,  much  m-^re  organic  matter,  and  1.635,  or  rather 
less  of  nitrogen.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  organic  matter 
in  the  soil  after  clover  seed,  occurs  in  a  more  advanced  stage  of 
decomposition,  than  found  in  the  clover-roots  from  the  part  of  the 
field  twice  mown.  In  the  manure,  in  which  the  decay  of  such 
and  similar  organic  remains  proceeds,  much  of  the  non-nitrogen- 
ous, or  carbonaceous  matters,  of  which   these  remains  chiefly, 


156  TALKS    ON    MANUUES. 

lliouirh  not  I'litinly,  consist,  is  Iraiisfotinid  into  pasi'ous  carbonic 
acid,  and  wliat  remains  Itchind,  hfcouus  richer  in  nitroi^cn  ami 
mineral  matters.  A  parallel  case,  showiiii;  the  dissipation  of  car- 
bonaceous matter,  and  the  increase  in  tiie  percenta^a'  of  nitrogen 
and  mineral  matter  in  what  is  left  behind,  is  presented  to  us  in 
fresh  and  n»tten  duuL';  in  long  or  fresh  dung,  the  j>ercenUige  of 
organic  matter,  consisting  chietly  of  very  imperfe-lly  decom- 
posed straw,  being  lirger,  and  that  of  nitrogen  and  mineral 
matter  smaller,  than  in  well-rotted  dung. 

"The  roots  froni  the  field  after  clover-.seed,  it  will  be  borne  in 
mind,  were  ilug  uj)  in  November,  whilst  those  ol)tained  from  the 
lan<l  twice  mown,  wen-  tlug  up  in  September;  the  former,  there- 
fore, may  be  expected  to  be  in  a  more  advanced  state  of  decay 
than  the  latter,  and  richer  in  nilroiren. 

"  In  an  acre  of  soil,  after  clover  seed,  we  have: 

IM. 

Nilrogtn  in  first  six  ii.chcs  of  soil 4,7"i5 

Nitroi^iii  ill  nnfts •'Jli 

Nitmiicn  in  seennti  six  inclioH  of  soil 'A,WM 

Tutal  umouut  of  nitrogen,  per  aere,  in  twelve  Inches  of  boU....  8,l;afl 

"E(|ual  to  ammonia,  9,K(57  lbs.  :  or,  in  round  numbers,  3  Urns 
and  12i  cwts.  of  nitrogen  jier  acre;  eciual  to  4  tons  8  cwt.s.  of 
ammonia. 

"  This  is  a  very  much  larger  amount  of  nitrogen  than  occurred  in 
the  other  soil,  and  shows  jtlainly  that  tiie  total  amount  of  nitrogen 
accumulates  especially  in  the  surface-soil,  when  clover  is  grown 
for  seed  ;  thus  explaining  intelligibly,  as  it  appears  to  me,  why 
wheat,  as  stated  by  many  practical  men,  succeeds  better  on  land 
where  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  tlnm  where  it  is  mown  f(jr  hay. 

"  All  the  three  layers  of  the  soil,  after  clover-seed,  are  richer  in 
nitroi,'en  than  the  .same  sections  of  the  soil  where  the  clover  wjis 
twice  mown,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  comparative  state- 
ment of  results: 

I.  I  n. 

MOWS.  ANDTHBN  LEPT  PORBKKD. 

Upper  I  Seomd  \   Third      Vppfr  \    Xtxl    \  Lorrtft 
%iiie/iei>.  6inrAfj>.  Ciinche/t.  (W/wAm.  Sinchss.  dinehe*. 

Perceiitasre  of  nitrogen  in  ;  i  I  1 

dried'soil .HW  .092    I     .OM     |      .189    |     .\Z\    \     .089 

Equal  to  ammonia  .198    |     .119    !     .078  .229    |     .169    i     ,108 

"This  difference  in  the  amount  of  accumulated  nitrogen  in 
clover-land,  appears  still  more  strikingly  on  comparing  the  tola! 


EXI'KIUMENTS    ON    <  LOVER-SOILS.  157 

amounts  of  nitrogen  per  ariv  in  tlic  (lilVmnt   sections  of  the  two 
portions  of  Ibe  ll-arrc  tield. 

peklknta(;e  of  xituockn  i'kk  acre. 

Mnt         Sei-imd  T/iinl 

air  iiic/ifn.  xU  iiirhen.  six  iitc/ua. 

/J>.i.            Lb<.  IJm. 

I.  In  poll,  clover  twico  mown* i    3,:}50          1,875  \^',i2ii 

II.  In  soil,  clovtr  once  mown  and  8«'i'(liMi  v 

aflerwur.lst )    4,7jr,          '.\:iiQ  2.235 


Equal  to  ammouiii :  i 

♦   I.  Clover  twice  nu.wn V  4,05')  3,275  1,600 

t  II.  Clover  seeded )    ".,725  4,050  2,7t)0 


TMs. 

I.  Nitroppn  in  roots  of  clover  twice  mown \  34i 

II.  Nitrofjcn  in  clover,  onee  mown,  anil  grown  for  seed  after- V 

wurds .' )  5U 

I.  Wfi-^lit  of  dry  roots  per  acre  from  .Soil  1   (  l,4'.>;;i 

II.   Weiiriit  of  dry  roots  per  acre  from  Soil  II )  0,022 

Total  amount  of  nitronen  in  1  jiere,  12  inches  deep  <'f  Soil  I*.  (  5,24'Ji 

Total  amount  of  nitroiren  in  1  acn.  12  inches  deep  of  Soil  lit.  \  8,12;Ji 

Excess  of  nitroiren  in  an  acre  of  soil  12  inches  deep,  calculated 

as  ammonia  in  [>art  of  Held,  mown  once  and  then  seeded 


3,592* 


•  Equal  to  ammonia )     t5,S74i 

t  Equal  to  ammonia !l     9,807 

"It  will  lie  seen  that  not  only  was  the  amount  of  large  clover- 
roots  greater  in  the  part  wiierc  cl<iver  was  grown  for  .^eed,  but  tliat 
likewise  the  different  layers  of  soil  were  in  every  instaix'e  richer 
in  nitrogen  after  clover-socd,  t'.ian  after  clover  mown  twice  for 
hay. 

"  Reasons  arc  given  in  the  beginning  of  this  paper  which  it  is 
hoped  will  have  convinced  the  reader,  that  the  fertility  of  land 
is  not  so  much  measured  by  the  amount  of  ash  constituents  of 
jdanls  which  it  contains,  a.s  by  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  which,  to- 
gether with  an  excess  of  such  ash  constituents,  it  contains  in  an 
available  form.  It  has  been  shown  likewise,  that  the  removal  from 
the  soil  of  a  large  amount  of  mineral  matter  in  a  good  clover-crop, 
in  conformity  with  many  direct  field  e.xporimcnts,  is  not  likely  in 
any  degree  to  affect  the  wheat-crop,  and  that  the  yield  of  wheat  on 
soils  under  ordinary  cultivation,  according  to  the  experience  of 
many  farmers,  and  the  direct  and  numerous  experiments  of  Messrs. 
Lawes  and  Gilbert,  rises  or  falls,  otlier  circumstances  being  equal, 
with  the  supply  of  available  nitrogenous  food  which  is  given  to 
the  wheat.  This  being  the  case,  we  can  not  doubt  that  the  benefits 
arising  from  the  growth  of  clover  to  the  succeeding  wheat,  are 
mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  an  immense  amount  of  nitrogenoua 
food  accumulates  in  the  soil  during  the  growth  of  clover. 


158  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"This  accumulation  of  nitrogenous  plant-food,  specially  useful 
to  cereal  crops,  is,  as  shown  in  the  preeeilin^  experiments,  much 
f^reater  when  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  tlian  when  it  is  made  into 
hay.  Tiiis  affords  an  intelligible  explanation  of  a  fact  long 
observed  by  good  practical  men,  although  denied  by  other:  who 
decline  to  accept  their  experience  as  resting  upon  trustworthy  evi- 
dence, because,  as  they  say,  land  cannot  become  more  fertile  when 
a  crop  is  grown  upon  it  for  seed,  whieii  is  <arried  off,  than  when 
that  crop  is  cut  down  and  tht-  produce  consumed  on  the  land.  The 
chemical  points  brought  forward  iu  the  course  of  this  inquiry, 
show  plainly  that  mere  speculation  as  to  what  can  take  place  in  a 
soil,  and  what  not,  do  not  much  advance  the  true  theory  of  cer- 
tain agricultural  practices.  It  is  only  by  carefully  investigating 
subjects  like  the  one  under  consideration,  that  positive  proofs  are 
given,  showing  the  correctness  of  intelligent  (observers  in  tlie  fields. 
Mariy  years  ago,  I  made  a  great  many  experiment.-*  relative  to  the 
chemistry  of  farm-yard  manurr,  and  then  showed,  amongst  other 
pirticulars,  that  manure,  spread  at  once  on  the  hmd,  need  not 
tlierc  and  then  be  plowed  in,  ina>jmuch  as  neither  a  broiling  sun, 
nor  a  sweeping  and  drying  wind  will  cause  the  slightest  loss  of 
nmmoniii ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  ohl-fashioned  farmer  who  carts 
his  maiuire  on  the  land  as  soon  as  he  can,  and  sjireads  it  at  once, 
but  wiio  plows  it  in  at  Ids  convenience,  acts  ii  perfect  accordance 
with  correct  chemical  principles  involved  in  the  management  of 
farm-yard  manure.  On  the  present  occasion,  my  main  object  has 
been  to  show,  not  merely  by  reasoning  on  the  subject,  but  by  actual 
experiments,  that  tlic  la'-ger  the  amounts  of  nitrogen,  pota.sh,  soda, 
lime,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  which  are  removed  from  the  land  in  a 
clover-crop,  the  better  it  is,  nevertheless,  made  thereby  for  produc- 
ing in  the  succeeding  year  an  abundant  crop  of  wheat,  other  cir- 
cumstances being  favorable  to  its  growth. 

*'  Indeed,  no  kind  of  manure  can  be  compared  in  point  of  efl3cacy 
for  wheat,  to  the  manuring  which  the  land  gets  in  a  really  good 
crop  of  clover.  The  farmer  who  wishes  to  derive  the  full  benefit 
from  his  clover-lay,  should  plow  it  up  for  wheat  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble in  the  autumn,  and  h.'ave  it  in  a  rough  state  as  long  as  is  admis- 
sible, in  order  tliat  the  air  may  find  free  access  into  the  land,  and 
the  organic  remains  left  in  so  much  abundance  in  a  good  crop  of 
clover  be  changed  into  plant-food  ;  more  especially,  in  other  words, 
in  order  that  the  crude  nitrogenous  organic  matter  in  the  clover- 
roots  and  decaying  leaves,  may  have  time  to  become  transformed 
into  ammoniacal  compounds,  ami  these,  in  the  course  of  time,tnto 
nitrates,  which  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think  is  the  form  in  which 


EXPEUIMENTS    (»N    (  LOVKK-SOILS.  159 

nitrogen  isassimihiteil.  par  excellence  by  cereal  crops.and  in  whid), 
at  all  events,  it  is  more  efficacious  than  in  any  other  state  of  coin- 
bin.ition  wherein  it  may  be  used  jl^  a  fertilizer. 

"  When  the  elover-lay  is  plowed  ui>  early,  the  decay  of  the  clover 
is  sufficiently  advanced  by  the  time  tiie  young  wheat-plant  stands 
in  need  of  readily  available  nitrogenous  food,  and  this  being  uni- 
formly distrii)Uted  through  the  whole  of  the  cultivated  soil,  is 
ready  to  benefit  every  single  plant.  This  etpial  and  abundant  dis- 
tributicm  of  food,  peculiarly  valuable  to  cere;ds,  is  a  great  advan- 
tage, and  speaks  strongly  in  favor  of  clover  as  a  preparatory  crop 
for  wheat. 

"  Nitrate  of  soda,  an  excellent  spring  top-dressing  for  wheat  and 
cereals  in  general,  in  some  seasons  fails  to  i)roduce  as  good  an  effect 
as  in  others.  In  very  ilry  springs,  the  rainfall  is  not  sufficient  to 
wash  it  properly  into  th  •  soil  and  to  distribute  it  equally,  and  in 
very  wet  sea.sons  it  is  apt  to  be  washed  either  into  the  drains  or 
into  a  stnitum  of  the  soil  not  aecessibk'  to  the  roots  of  the  young 
wheat.  As,  therefore,  the  character  of  tlie  approaching  season 
can  not  usually  be  predicted,  the  application  of  nitrate  of  soda  to 
whe It  is  alwa3S  attended  with  more  or  less  uncertainty. 

"  The  case  is  different,  when  a  good  crop  of  clover-hay  has  been 
obtaine  1  from  the  land  on  which  wheat  is  inten  led  to  be  grown 
afterwards.  An  enormous  quantity  of  nitrogenous  organic  matter, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  left  in  the  land  after  the  removal  of  the  clover- 
crop ;  and  these  remains  gradually  decay  and  furnish  ammonia, 
which  at  first  and  during  the  col  ler  months  of  the  year,  is  retained 
by  the  well  known  absorbing  properties  which  all  good  wheat- 
soils  possess.  In  spring,  when  warmer  weather  sets  in,  and  the 
wheat  begins  to  make  a  push,  these  ammonia  compounds  in  the  soil 
are  by  degrees  oxidized  into  nitrates;  and  as  this  change  into  food 
peculiarly  favorable  to  young  cereal  plants,  proceeds  slowly 
but  steadily,  we  have  in  the  soil  itself,  after  clover,  a  source  from 
which  nitrates  are  continuously  produced ;  so  that  it  does  not  much 
affect  the  final  yield  of  wheat,  whether  heavy  rains  remove  some 
or  all  of  the  nitrate  present  in  the  soil.  The  clover  remains  thus 
afford  a  more  continuous  source  from  which  nitrates  are  produced, 
and  greater  certainty  for  a  good  crop  of  wheat  than  when  recourse 
is  had  to  nitrogenous  top-dressings  in  the  spring. 

SUMMARY. 

"  The  following  are  some  off  the  chief  points  of  interest  which  I 
have  endeavored  fully  to  develope  in  the  precediu'r  piges : 
"  1.  A  good  crop  of  clover  removes  from  the  soil  more  potash, 


160  TALKS    ON    MANUP.KS. 

pliosphoric  acid,  lime,  aud  other  mineral  matters,  which  enter  into 
the  composition  of  the  asiies  of  our  cultivated  crops,  than  any  other 
crop  usually  grown  in  tliis  country. 

"3.  Tliere  is  fully  tlireu  times  as  much  nitrogen  in  a  crop  of 
clover  us  in  the  average  produce  of  the  grain  and  straw  of  wheat 
per  acre. 

"3.  Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter 
and  of  a.sh-constituents  of  plants,  in  the  produce  of  an  acre,  clover 
is  an  excellent  preparatory  crop  for  wheat. 

"  4.  During  tiie  growth  of  clover,  a  large  amount  of  nitrogenous 
matter  accumulates  in  the  soil. 

"5.  This  accumulation,  whicn  is  greatest  in  the  surface  soil,  is 
due  to  dcc'ying  leaves  dropped  during  the  growth  of  clover,  and 
to  an  ahundance  of  roots,  containing,  when  dry,  from  one  and 
three-fourths  to  two  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

"  6.  The  clover-roots  are  stronger  and  more  numerous,  and  more 
leaves  fall  on  the  ground  when  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  than 
when  it  is  mown  for  hay ;  in  consequence,  more  nitrogen  is  left 
after  clover-seed,  than  after  hay,  which  accounts  for  wheat  yiehl- 
ing  a  l)etter  crop  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay. 

"  7.  The  development  of  roots  he\n[s  checked,  when  the  produce, 
in  a  green  condition,  is  fed  olT  by  shtep,  in  all  jirohaltility,  leaves 
still  less  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  soil  than  when  clover  is 
allowed  to  get  riper  and  is  mown  for  hay ;  thus,  no  doubt,  account- 
ing for  the  observation  made  by  practical  men,  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  return  of  the  produce  in  the  sheep  excrements,  wheat  is 
generally  stnngcr,  and  yi"lda  better,  after  clover  mown  for  hay, 
than  wlien  the  clover  is  fed  off  green  by  sheep. 

"8.  Tlie  nilrogMious  matters  in  tlie  clover  remains,  on  their 
gradual  decay,  are  finally  transformed  into  nitrates,  thus  affordinix 
a  continuous  .source  of  food  on  which  cereal  crops  speeially  dcliglit 
to  grow. 

"9.  There  is  strong  presumptive  evidence  that  the  nitrogen 
wliieh  exists  in  the  air,  in  shape  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  and 
descends,  in  these  combinations,  with  the  rain  which  falls  on  the 
ground,  satisfies,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  requirements 
of  the  clover-crop.  This  crop  causes  a  large  accumulation  of 
nitroi^enous  matters,  which  are  gradually  changed  in  the  soil  into 
nitrates.  The  atmosphere  thus  furnishes  nitrogenous  food  to  the 
succeedin'r  wheat  indirectly,  and,  so  to  say,  gratis. 

"10.  Clover  not  only  provides  abundance  of  nitrogenous  food, 
hut  delivers  this  food  in  a  rea  lily  available  form  (as  nitrates),  more 
gradually  and  continuously,  and,  consequently,  with  more  cer- 


EXPEKIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  161 

tainty  of  a  good  result,  than  such  food  can  be  applied  to  the  laud 
ill  the  shape  of  uilrogenous  spring  top-dressings." 


"  Thank  you  Charley,"  sa^ia  the  Doctor,  "  thit  is  the  moxt  re- 
mdrhtbU  puper  I  ever  liskiud  to.  I  do  not  quite  know  what  to 
think  of  it.     We  shall  have  to  e.vaniine  it  carefully." 

"  The  lirst  three  propositi<)ns  \v  the  buuiuiary,"  said  I,  "are  un- 
questionaltly  true.  Proposition  No.  4,  is  equally  true,  but  we  must 
be  careful  what  meaning  we  attach  to  the  word  'accumulate.'  Tiic 
idea  is,  that  clover  gathers  up  the  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  It  docs  not 
increuae  the  absolute  amount  of  nitrogen.  It  accumulates  it — brings 
it  together." 

"  Proposition  '^In.  5,  will  not  be  disputed  ;  and  I  think  we  may 
accept  No.  6,  al.so,  though  we  can  not  be  sure  that  allowing  clover 
to  go  to  seed,  had  anytliing  to  ilo  with  the  increased  quantity  of 
clover-roots." 

"  Proposition  No.  7,  may  or  may  not  l)e  true.  We  have  no 
proof,  only  a  '  prr)babilily  ; '  and  tlie  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to 
propositions  Nos.  8,  9,  and  10." 

The  Deacon  seemtd  uneasy.  He  did  not  like  these  remarks.  lie 
had  got  the  impression,  while  Charley  was  reading,  that  much 
more  was  proved  than  Dr.  Vadckcr  claims  in  his  Summary. 

"  I  thought,"  said  he,  "  that  on  tlie  part  of  the  tield  where  the 
clover  was  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  Dr.  Yoelcker  found  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  nitrogen." 

"  That  seems  to  be  the  general  impression,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but 
in  point  of  fact,  we  have  no  proof  that  the  growth  of  clover,  either 
for  hay  or  for  seed,  had  anything  to  do  with  tlie  quantity  of  nitro- 
gen and  phosphoric  acid  found  in  the  soil.  The/(/r?s  given  by  Dr. 
Yoelcker,  are  exceedingly  interesting.     Let  us  look  at  them:" 

"  A  field  of  11  acres  was  sown  to  winter-wheat,  and  seeded  down 
in  the  spring,  with  12  lbs.  per  acre  of  clover.  The  wheat  yielded 
40  bushels  per  acre.  The  next  year,  on  the  25th  of  June,  the 
clover  was  mown  for  hay.  We  are  told  that '  the  best  pni-t  of  tlie 
field  yielded  three  tons  (6,720  lbs.)  of  clover  hay  per  acre;  the 
whole  field  averaging  2h  tons  (5,600  lbs.)  per  acre.'  " 

"We  are  not  informed  how  much  land  there  was  of  the  'best 
part,'  but  assuming  that  it  was  half  the  field,  the  poorer  part 
must  have  yielded  only  4,480  lbs.  of  hay  per  acre,  or  only  two- 
thirds  as  much  as  the  other.  This  shows  that  there  was  consider- 
able difference  in  the  quality  or  condition  of  the  land. 

"  After  the  field  was  mown  for  hay.it  was  divide'!  into  two  parts  : 
one  part  was  mown  again  for  hay,  August  31st,  and  yielded  about 


162  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

30  cvvt.  (3,JJG0  lbs.)  of  hay  per  acre ;  the  other  half  was  allowed  to 
grow  six  or  seven  weeks  longer,  and  was  then  (October  8th),  cut 
for  seed.  The  yield  was  a  little  over  5h  bushels  of  seed  per  acre. 
Whether  the  clover  allowed  to  grow  for  seed,  was  on  the  richer  or 
poorer  half  of  the  field,  we  are  not  informed. 

"  Dr.  Voelcker  then  analyzed  the  soil.  That  from  the  part  of  the 
field  mown  twice  for  hay,  contained  per  acre : 

J'^rxt  six  Second  six  Third  six  Total,  18. 

iiic/ies.  itu'fws.  i)icfi/'s.  inches  <Uep. 

Phosphoric  acid 4,950  2,725               8,575  11,250 

Nitrogen 3,3.50  1,875               1,325  6,550 

"The  soil /rom  the  part  mown  once  for  Jiuy,  and  tJitn  for  seed, 
contained  per  acre : 

First  six        Second  six  Third  six        T<Aal,\% 

inches.            inches.  inches.        inches  deep. 

Phosphoric  acid 3,975              4,150  3,500            11.625 

Nitrogen 4,72.5              3,350  2,225           10,300 

"Dr.Voelcker  also  ascertained  the  amount  &nd  composition  of  the 
clover-roots  growing  in  the  soil  on  the  two  parts  of  the  field.  Ou 
the  part  77iown  ticice  for  hiy,  the  roots  contained  per  acre  24J  lbs. 
of  nitrogen.  On  the  part  mown  once  for  hn/,  and  then  for  seed, 
the  roots  contained  .5H  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre." 

"  Now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  these  facts  are  very  interesting,  but 
there  is  no  sort  of  evidence  tending  to  shoir  that  the  clover  hfis  any- 
thing to  do  with  increasing  or  decreasing  the  qxtantity  of  nitrogen  or 
phosphoric  acid  found  in  the  soil.'''' 

"  There  was  more  clover-roots  per  acre,  where  the  clover  was 
allowed  to  go  to  seed.  But  that  maj'  be  because  the  soil  happened 
to  be  richer  on  this  part  of  the  field.  There  was,  in  the  first  six 
inches  of  the  soil,  8,3.50  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  on  one-half  of  the 
field,  and  4,725  lbs.  on  the  other  half;  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  on  the  latter  half  there  should  be  a  greater  growth  of  clover 
and  clover-roots.  To  suppose  that  during  the  six  or  seven  weeks 
while  the  clover  was  maturing  its  seed,  the  clover-plants  could 
accumulate  1,375  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  is  absurd." 

"But  Dr.  Voelcker,"  said  the  Deacon,  "states,  and  states  truly, 
that  '  more  leaves  fall  on  the  ground  when  clover  is  grown  for 
seed,  than  when  it  is  mown  for  hay ;  and,  consequently,  more  nitro- 
gen is  left  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay,  which  accounts  for 
wheat  yielding  a  better  crop  after  clover-seed  than  after  hay.'  " 

"  Tills  is  all  true,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  we  can  not  accept  Dr. 
Voelckcr's  analyses  as  proving  it.  To  account  in  this  way  for  the 
1,375  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  we  should  have  to  suppose  that  the  clover- 
plants,  in  going  to  seed,  shed  one  hundred  tons  of  dry  clover-leaves 


BXPEKIMENTS    OX    CLOVER-SOILS.  163 

per  acre !  The  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be,  that  the  part  of  the 
field  I  in  which  the  clover  was  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  was  naturally 
much  richer  than  the  other  part,  and  consequently  produced  a 
greater  growth  of  clover  and  clover-roots." 

We  can  not  find  anything  in  these  experiments  tending  to  show 
that  we  can  make  land  rich  by  growing  clover  and  selling  the  crop. 
The  analyses  of  the  soil  show  that  in  the  first  eigliteen  inches  of  the 
surfiice-soil,  there  wsis  6,550  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  on  one  part 
of  the  field,  and  10,300  lbs.  on  the  other  part.  The  clover  did  not 
create  this  nitrogen,  or  bring  it  from  the  atmosphere.  The  wheat 
with  which  the  clover  was  seeded  down,  yielded  40  bushels  per 
acre.  If  tlie  field  had  been  sown  to  wheat  again,  it  probably  would 
not  have  yielded  over  25  bushels  per  acre — and  that  for  want  of 
available  nitrogen.  And  yet  the  clover  got  nitrogen  enough  for 
over  four  tons  of  clover  hay ;  or  as  much  nitrogen  as  a  crop  of 
wheat  of  125  bushels  per  acre,  and  7i  tons  of  straw  would  remove 
from  the  land. 

Now  what  does  this  prove  ?  There  was,  in  18  inches  of  the  soil 
on  the  poorest  part  of  the  field,  6,550  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre.  A 
crop  of  wheat  of  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  twice  that  weight  of 
straw,  would  require  about  93  lbs.  of  nitrogen.  But  the  wheat  can 
not  get  this  amount  from  the  soil,  while  the  clover  can  get  double 
the  quantity.  And  the  only  explantion  I  can  give,  is,  that  the  clover- 
roots  can  take  up  nitrogen  from  a  weaker  solution  in  the  soil  than 
•wheat-roots  can. 


"These  experiments  of  Dr.  Vcelcker,"  sa  d  I,  "  give  me  great  en- 
couragement. Here  is  a  soil,  *  originally  rather  unproductive,  but 
much  improved  by  deep  culture  ;  by  being  smashed  up  into  rough 
clods  early  in  autumn,  and  by  being  exposed  in  this  state  to  the 
crumbling  effects  of  the  air.'  It  now  produces  40  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  and  part  of  the  field  yielded  three  tons  of  clover-hay, 
per  acre,  the  first  cutting,  and  5i  bushels  of  clover-seed  after- 
wards—and that  in  a  very  unfavorable  season  for  clover-seed." 


You  will  find  that  the  farmers  in  England  do  not  expect  to  make 
their  land  rich,  by  growing  clover  and  selling  the  produce.  After 
they  have  got  their  land  rich,  by  good  cultivation,  and  the  liberal 
use  of  animal  and  artificial  manures,  they  may  expect  a  good  crop 
of  wheat  from  the  roots  of  the  clover.  But  they  take  good  care  to 
feed  out  the  clover  itself  on  the  farm,  in  connection  with  turnips 
and  oil-cake,  and  thus  make  rich  manure- 


164 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


And  so  it  is  in  this  country.  Much  as  we  hear  about  the  value 
of  clover  for  manure,  even  those  who  extol  it  tlie  liighest  do  not 
depend  upon  it  aIo:ie  for  hringiu.^  up  and  maintaining  the  fertility 
of  their  farms.  The  men  who  raise  tiie  large-^t  crops  and  make  the 
most  money  by  farming,  do  not  sell  clover-ha.v.  They  do  not  look 
to  the  roots  of  the  clover  for  making  a  poor  soil  rich.  They  are, 
to  a  man,  good  cultivators.  They  work  their  land  thoroughly  and 
kill  the  weeds.  Tuey  keep  good  stock,  and  feed  liberally,  and 
make  good  manure.  Tiiey  use  lime,  ashes,  and  plaster,  and  are 
clad  to  draw  manure  from  the  cities  and  villages,  and  muck  from 
the  swamps,  and  not  a  few  of  them  bu}*  artificial  manures.  In  the 
hands  of  such  farmers,  clover  is  a  grand  renovating  crop.  It 
gathers  up  tlie  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  tiie  roots  alone  of  a 
large  crop,  often  furnish  food  enough  for  a  good  crop  of  corn, 
potatoes,  or  wheat.  But  if  your  land  was  not  in  good  lieart  to 
start  with,  you  would  not  get  the  large  crop  of  clover;  and  if  you 
depend  on  the  clover-roots  alone,  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
your  lari:e  crops  of  clover  will  be  things  of  tlie  past. 

AMOUNT    OF    ROOTS    LEFT    IN    TIIE    SOIL    BY    DIFFERENT 

CROPS. 
"We  have  seen   that  Dr.  Voplckcr  made  four    separate  deter- 
minations of   the  amount  of  clover-roots  left  in  the  soil  to  the 
depth  of  six  inches.  It  may  be  well  to  tabulate  the  figures  obtained : 

CLOTBB-BOOTS,   IN  SIX  IMCHI8  OF  BOO.,  FBB  ACRB. 


Air-dry 

rootn. 

per 

acre. 

mtro 

gen  in 

IVOt-fl, 

per 
acre. 

Pho»- 

pfioric 

acid    in 

root*, 

per 

acre. 

No.  1. 
"    2. 

"    3. 
•'    4. 

"    5. 

^  J  Good  Clover  from  brow  of  tlie  hill 

^■iBad 

C     f 

a 

.2  J  Good  Clover  from  bottom  of  the  field 

•^iThin        "         "     brow          "       bill.... 

•3 

Heavy  crop  of  flrst-year  clover  mown  twice 
for  hav 

TTO.'i 
3920 

7569 
80t>l 

100 

31 

61 
66 

61* 
191* 

27 

"    6. 

Heavy  cri)p  of   first-year  clover,  mown  once 
for  hay,  and  then  for  seed 

8921 

"    7. 

German  experiment,  lOJ  inchcei  deep 

74» 

I  have  not  much  confidence  in  experiments  of  this  kind.  It  is 
so  easy  to  make  a  little  mistake  ;  and  when  you  take  only  a  square 
foot  of  land,  as  was  the  case  with  Nos.  5  and  0,  the  mistake  is  mul- 
tiplied by  43,560.     Still,  I  give  the  table  for  what  it  is  worth. 


EXPEKIMENTS    ON    CLOVKR-SOILS.  165 

Nos.  1  and  2  arr  from  a  one-yi'ar-old  crop  of  clover.  The  field 
was  a  calcareous  clay  soil.  It  was  somewhat  hilly;  or,  perhaps, 
what  we  here,  iu  Western  New  York,  should  call  "  rolliuir  land." 
The  soil  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  "was  very  stony  at  a  depth  of 
four  inches,  so  that  it  could  only  with  difficulty  be  excavated  to 
six   ijiches,  wlu-n  the  bare  limt  stone-rock  made  its  aitpearance." 

A  square  yard  was  seleited  on  this  siiallow  soil,  where  the  clover 
was  Ejood  ;  and  tiie  roots,  air-ilried,  weiglied  at  the  rate  of  7,7Uo  lbs. 
per  acre,  and  contained  100  lbs.  of  nitrogen.  A  few  yards  disUince, 
on  the  same  soil,  where  the  clover  was  bad,  the  acre  of  roots  con- 
tained only  31  ll)s.  of  nitro;;en  per  acre. 

S«>  far,  so  iTOod.  We  can  well  understand  this  result.  Chemistry 
has  little  to  do  with  it.  Then-  was  a  p)od  stand  of  clover  on  the 
one  plot,  and  a  poor  i»ne  on  the  other.  And  tiie  conclusion  to  be 
drawn  from  it  is,  that  it  is  well  worth  our  while  to  try  to  secure  a 
good  catch  of  ch>ver. 

"  But,  suppose,"  .said  the  Doctor,  "  No.  2  had  happened  to  hav<: 
been  pastured  by  sheep,  and  No.  1  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  what 
magi  •  there  would  have  been  in  the  above  figures  !  " 

Nos.  3  and  4  arc  from  the  .same  field,  the  second  year.  No.  4  is 
from  a  sf[uare  yard  of  thin  clover  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and 
No.  3,  from  the  rielnr,  deeper  land  towards  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 

There  is  very  little  dilTerence  between  them.  The  roots  of  thin 
clover  from  the  brow  of  tlic  hill,  ctintain  five  lbs.  more  nitrogen 
per  acre,  than  tiie  roots  on  the  deeper  soil. 

If  we  can  depend  on  the  figures,  we  may  conclude  that  on  our 
poor  stony  "knolls,"  the  clover  has  larger  and  longer  roots  than 
on  the  richer  parts  of  the  fi 'Id.  We  know  that  roots  will  run 
long  distances  and  great  dejjths  iu  search  of  food  and  water. 

Nos.  5  and  6  are  from  a  heavy  crop  of  one-year-old  clover.  No. 
5  was  mown  twice  for  hay,  producing,  in  the  two  cuttings,  over 
four  tons  of  liay  per  acre.  No.  6  was  in  the  same  field,  the  only 
difference  being  th-at  the  clover,  instead  of  being  cut  the  .second 
time  for  hay,  was  allowed  to  stand  a  few  weeks  longer  to  ripen  its 
seed.    You  will  see  that  the  latter  has  more  roots  than  the  former. 

There  are  24|  lbs.  of  nitrogen  per  acre  in  the  one  case,  and  51^ 
lbs.  in  the  other.  IIow  far  tliis  is  due  to  difference  in  the  condition 
of  the  land,  or  to  the  difficulties  in  tlie  way  of  getting  out  all  the 
roots  from  the  square  yard,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture. 

Truth  to  tell,  I  have  very  little  confidence  in  any  of  these  figures. 
It  will  be  observed  that  I  have  put  at  the  bottom  of  the  table,  the 
result  of  an  examination  made  in  Germany.  In  this  case,  the  nitro- 
gen in  the  roots  of  an  acre  of  clover,  amounted  to  191^  lbs.  per 


166 


TALKS   ON   MANURES. 


acre.  If  we  can  depend  on  the  figutes,  we  must  conclude  that  there 
were  nearly  eight  times  as  much  clover-roots  per  acre  in  the  Ger- 
man field,  as  in  the  remarkably  heavy  crop  of  clover  in  the  English 
field  No.  5. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  the  one  was  10^  inches  deep,  and 
the  other  only  six  inches  deep ;  and  besides,  the  German  experi- 
ment includes  the  '  stubble  '  with  the  roots." 

The  Deacon  is  right ;  and  it  will  be  well  to  give  the  complete 
table,  as  published  in  the  American  Agriculturist: 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  AMOU.NT  OF  ROOTS  AND  8TUBBLB  LEFT  PER  ACRE  BY  DIFFEB- 
BNT  CROPS,  AND  THE  AMOUNT  OF  INQRBDIENT8  WHICH  TUET  CONTAIN  PER  ACRE. 


Lacera  (4  years  old) 

Red-Clover (1  year  old)... 
Ettparsettc  (  3  years  old). 
Rye. 


Swedish  Clover. 

Rape 

Oats 

Lupine 

Wheat 

Peas 

Serradella 

Buckwheat 

Barley 


^t^ 

^lia" 

^=^ 

9.678.1 

136.4 

8.921.6 

191.6 

5,930.9 

123.2 

5,264.6 

65.3 

5,004.3 

102.3 

4,477. 

56.5 

3,3319 

26.6 

3,.'ia0.9 

62.2 

3.476. 

2:i.5 

3.222.5 

55.6 

3,120.1 

64.8 

2,195.6 

47.9 

1.9914 

22.8 

O-SS 


1,201.6 
1,919.9 
1,()2:}.4 
1,747.8 
974.6 
622  3 
1,444.7 

.'.."iO. 
1,089.8 
670.7 
.545.6 
465.5 
3!>1.1 


CONTENTS  OF  THB  A8HEB,  IN  POtTNOS,  PER  ACRE. 


13 

1 

1 

M 

1. 

Luccm 

19T.7 

262.9 

132.8 

73.2 

136.1 

163.9 

85.5 

80.5 

76.7 

71.7 

79.8 

80. 

42.2 

24.2 

48.4 
28.7 
14.3 
17.6 
12.9 
11.2 
11.2 
10.1 
11. 
13.4 
7.2 
5.5 

36.7 

.58.3 

42.6 

31.2 

25.9 

:i4.7 

24.8 

16.5 

28.4 

11.2 

8.8 

8.8 

9.5 

26.4 

200 

13.8 

4:1.3 

5.7 

20.9 

18. 

3.5 

11. 

7. 

4.8 

4.2 

3.5 

18.7 
26.1 
20.6 
11.8 
13.2 
30.8 

8.8 

7. 

7.4 

9.4 

9. 

6.6 

5.5 

38.5 

Red-Clover 

Esparsettc 

74.8 
29.7 

Rye    

244 

S wedijih  Clover 

24.2 

Raoe  

31.9 

Oats  

29. 

Lupine 

13.8 

Wheat 

11.8 

14.3 

18.4 

11. 

Barley 

11.2 

It  may  he  presumed,  that,  while  these  figures  are  not  absolutely, 
they  are  relntivcly,  correct.  In  other  words,  we  may  conclude, 
that  red-clover  leaves  more  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash, 
in  the  roots  and  stubble  per  acre,  than  any  other  of  the  crops  named. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  167 

TLc  gross  amount  of  dry  substance  in  the  roots,  and  the  gross 
amount  of  ash  per  acre,  are  considerably  exaggerated,  owing  to  the 
evidently  large  quantity  of  dirt  attached  to  the  roots  and  stubble. 
For  instance,  the  gross  amount  of  ash  in  Lucern  is  given  as  1,201.6 
lbs.  per  acre;  while  the  total  amount  of  lime,  magnesia,  potash, 
soda,  sulpiiuric  and  phosphoric  acids,  is  only  342.2  lbs.  per  acre, 
leaving  8o9.4  lbs.  as  sand,  clay,  iron,  etc.  Of  the  1,919.9  lbs.  of  ash 
in  the  acre  of  clover- roots  and  stubble,  there  are  1,429.4  lbs.  of 
sand,  clay,  etc.  But  even  after  deducting  this  amount  of  impuri- 
ties from  a  gross  total  of  dry  matter  per  acre,  we  still  have  7,492.2 
lbs.  of  dry  roots  and  stubble  per  acre,  or  nearly  'Si  tons  of  dry  roots 
per  acre.  This  is  a  very  large  quantity.  It  is  as  much  dry  matter 
as  is  contained  in  13  tons  of  ordinary  farm-yard,  or  stable-manure. 
And  these  3^  tons  of  dry  ch>ver-roots  contain  191^  ll)S.  of  nitrogen, 
which  is  as  much  as  is  contained  in  19  tons  of  ordinary  stable-ma- 
nure. The  clover- roots  also  contain  74|  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  per 
acre,  or  as  much  as  is  contained  in  from  500  to  GOO  lbs.  of  No.  1 
rectified  Peruvian  guano. 

"But  the  phosphoric  acid,"  said  the  Doctor,  "is  not  soluble  in 
the  roots."  True,  but  it  was  soluble  when  the  roots  gathered  it 
up  out  of  the  soil. 

"These  figures,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  have  a  verj'  pleasant  look. 
Those  of  us  who  have  nearly  one-quarter  of  our  land  in  clover 
every  year,  ought  to  be  making  our  farms  ver}'  rich." 

"  It  would  seem,  at  any  rate,"  said  I,  "  that  those  of  us  who  have 
good,  clean,  well-drained,  and  well-worked  land,  that  is  now  pro- 
ducing a  good  growtli  of  clover,  may  reasonably  expect  a  fair  crop 
of  wheat,  barley,  oats,  corn,  or  potatoes,  when  we  break  it  up  and 
plow  under  all  the  roots,  which  are  equal  to  13  or  19  tons  of  stable- 
manure  per  acre.  Whether  we  can  or  can  not  depend  on  these 
figures,  one  thing  is  clearly  proven,  both  by  the  chemist  and  the 
farmer,  that  a  good  clover-sod,  on  well-worked  soil,  is  a  good  pre- 
paration for  com  and  potatoes." 

MANURES    FOR    WHEAT. 

Probably  nine-tenths  of  all  the  wheat  grown  in  Western  New 
York,  or  the  "  Genesee  country,"  from  the  time  the  land  was  first 
cleared  until  1870,  was  raised  without  any  manure  being  directly  ap- 
plied to  the  land  for  this  crop.  Tillage  and  clover  were  what  the 
farmers  depended  on.  There  certain!}-  has  been  no  systematic  ma- 
nuring. The  manure  made  during  the  winter,  was  drawn  out  in  the 
spring,  and  plowed  under  for  corn.  Any  manure  made  during  the 
summer,  in  the  yards,  was,  by  the  best  farmers,  scraped  up  and 


168  TALKS    ON    MANUKKS. 

spread  on  iiortions  of  the  land  sown,  or  to  be  sown,  with  wheat. 
Kven  so  i^ooil  a  fanner  and  wheat-grower  as  Jolin  Johnston, 
rarely  used  manure,  (except  lime,  and  latterly,  a  little  guano), 
directly  for  wheat.  Clover  and  sumnier-fallowin;^  were  for  many 
years  the  dependence  of  the  ^Vestern  New  York  wheat-growers. 

"One  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  millers  of  Western  New 
Yori<,"  remarked  the  Doctor,  "once  told  me  that  'ever  smce  our 
farmers  began  to  manure  their  land,  the  wheat-crop  had  deterio- 
rated, not  only  in  the  yield  per  acre,  but  in  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  the  flour  obtained  from  it.'  It  seemed  a  strange  renuirk  to  make ; 
but  when  he  explained  that  the  farmers  had  given  up  summer- 
fallowing  and  plowing  in  clover,  :.nd  now  sow  spring  crops,  to 
lie  followed  by  winter  wheat  with  an  occasional  dressing  of  poor 
manure,  it  is  e;isy  to  see  how  it  may  be  true." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  it  is  not  the  iivtnurc  that  hurts  the  wheat,  but 
tiic  growth  of  spring  crops  anil  weeds  that  rob  the  soil  of  far  more 
plant-food  than  the  poor,  strawy  manure  can  supply.  "We  do  not 
now,  really,  furnish  the  wlieat-crop  as  much  manure  or  jilant-food 
as  we  formerly  did  when  little  or  no  manure  was  used,  antl  whea 
we  depcniled  on  summer-fallowing  and  |»lowingin  clover." 

We  must  cither  give  up  the  practice  of  sowing  a  spring  crop, 
before  wheat,  or  we  must  make  more  and  richer  manure,  or  we  must 
j)low  in  more  clover.  The  rotation,  which  many  of  us  now  adopt 
— corn,  barley,  wheat— is  profilal>le,  provided  we  can  make  our 
land  rich  enough  to  produce  75  l)ushels  of  shelled  corn,  50  Dushels 
of  barley,  anvl  85  bushels  of   wheat,  per  acre,  in  three  years. 

This  can  be  done,  but  we  shall  eitlier  require  a  number  of  acres 
of  rich  low  land,  or  irrigated  meadow,  the  produce  f)f  which  will 
make  manure  for  the  upland,  or  we  shall  have  to  purchase  oil- 
cake, bran,  malt-combs,  or  refuse  beans,  to  feed  out  with  our  straw 
and  clover-hay,  or  we  must  purchase  artificial  manures.  Unless 
this  is  done,  we  must  summer  fallow  more,  on  the  heavier  clay 
soils,  sow  less  oats  and  barley;  or  wc  must,  on  the  lighter  soils, 
raise  and  plow  under  more  clover,  or  feed  it  out  on  the  tarm,  being 
careful  to  save  and  ajiply  the  manure. 

"  Better  do  both,"  said  tlie  Doctor." 

"IIow?"  asked  the  Deacon. 

"You  had  iK'tter  make  all  llie  manure  you  can,"  continued  the 
Doctor,  "  and  buy  artificial  manures  besides." 

"  The  Doctor  is  right,"  said  I,  "  and  in  point  of  fact,  our  best 
farmers  are  doing  this  very  thing.  They  are  making  more  manure 
and  buying  more  manure  than  ever  before;  or,  to  slate  the  m.-^.tter 
correctly,  they  are  buying  artificial  manures ;  and  these  increase  the 


KXPEniMKNTS    ON    CLOVER-SOILS.  169 

crops,  and  tlie  extra  quantity  of  straw,  corn,  and  clover,  so  ob- 
tiiined,  enables  them  to  make  more  manure.  Tliey  get  cheated 
sometimes  in  their  [uirehases ;  i)iit,  on  the  wliole,  tlie  movement  is  a 
good  cue,  uud  will  result  in  a  hiiiher  and  better  system  of  farming." 

1  am  amused  at  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  manifested  by  some 
of  our  farmers  who  have  used  artitieial  manures  for  a  year  or  two. 
They  sceni  to  regard  me  as  a  sad  old  fogy,  because  I  am  now  de- 
pending almost  entirely  on  the  manures  made  on  the  farm.  Years 
ago,  1  was  laughed  at  because  I  used  gnainj  and  superphosphate.  It 
was  only  yesterday,  that  a  young  farmer,  who  is  the  local  agent  of 
this  neighborhood,  for  a  manure  manufacturer,  remarked  to  me, 
"  You  have  never  used  superphosphate.  We  sowed  it  on  our  wheat 
last  yiar,  and  could  see  to  the  very  drill  mark  how  far  it  went.  I 
would  like  to  tak"  your  order  for  a  ton.     I  am  sure  it  would  pay." 

"  We  are  making  manure  cheaper  than  you  can  sell  it  to  me,  "  I 
replied,  "and  besides,  I  do  not  think  superphosphate  is  a  good 
manure  for  wheat."  — "  Oh,"  he  exclaimed, "  you  would  not  say  so 
if  you  had  ever  used  it." — "  Why,  my  dear  sir,"  said  I,  "  I  made 
tons  o{  superphosphate,  and  used  large  quantities  of  guano  before 
you  were  born  ;  and  if  you  will  come  into  the  house,  I  will  show 
3'ou  a  silver  goblet  I  got  for  a  prize  essay  on  the  use  of  superphos- 
phate of  lime,  tliat  I  wrote  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  I 
sent  to  New  York  for  two  tons  of  guano,  and  published  the  result 
of  its  use  on  this  farm,  before  you  were  out  of  your  cradle.  And  I 
had  a  ton  or  more  of  superphosphate  made  for  me  in  1856,  and  some 
before  that.  I  have  also  used  on  this  farm,  many  tons  of  superphos- 
phate and  other  artificial  manures  from  different  manufacturers, 
and  one  year  I  used  15  tons  of  bone-dust." 

With  ready  tact,  he  tunied  the  tables  on  me  by  saying  :  "Now  I 
can  understand  why  your  land  is  improving.  It  is  because  you 
have  used  superphos]ihati'  and  bone-dust.     Order  a  few  tons." 

By  employing  airents  of  this  kind,  the  manufacturers  have  suc- 
ceeded in  selling  the  farmers  of  Western  New  York  thousands  of 
tons  of  superphosphate.  Some  fanners  think  it  pays,  and  some 
that  it  does  not.  We  are  more  likely  to  hear  of  the  successes  than 
of  failures.  Still  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  superphosphate 
has,  in  many  instances,  proved  a  valualile  and  profitable  manuve 
for  wheat  in  Western  New  York. 

From  '.200  to  300  lbs.  are  used  per  acre,  and  the  evidence  seems 
to  sh(nv  that  it  is  far  better  to  drill  in  i/ie  manure  with  the  seed  than 
to  sow  it  broadcast. 


My  own  opinion  is,  that  these  superphosphates  are  not  the  most 


170  TALKS    ON   MANURBS. 

economical  artificial  manures  that  could  be  used  for  wheat.  They 
contain  too  little  uitrogt-n.  Poruviaii  tjuano  conlaininir  nitrogen 
equal  to  10  per  cent  of  ammonia,  would  be,  I  think,  a  much  more 
effective  and  profilal)le  manure.  But  before  we  discuss  this  ques- 
tion, it  will  be  necessary  to  study  tue  results  of  actual  experiments 
in  the  use  of  various  fertilizers  for  wheat. 


CHAPTER      XXVII. 
LAWE3  AND   OILBEHTS  EXPERIMENTS  ON  WHEAT. 

I  hardly  know  how  to  commence  an  account  of  the  wonderful 
experiments  made  at  Kolhamsted,  Eufjland,  by  John  Bennett 
Lawes,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Jo.Kcph  II.  (Jilbert.  Mr.  La wes' first  sy.ste- 
matic  experiment  on  wiieat,  rommenced  in  the  autunm  of  1H4J3. 
A  field  of  14  acres  of  rather  heavy  clay  soil,  resting  on  chalk,  was 
selected  for  the  j>urpose.  Nineteen  plots  were  accurately  measured 
and  staked  off.  The  plots  ran  the  long  way  of  the  field,  and  up  a 
slight  ascent.  On  each  side  of  the  field,  alongside  the  plots,  there 
was  some  land  not  included,  the  first  year,  in  the  e.xiK'riment  proper. 
This  land  was  eitlier  left  without  manure,  or  a  mixture  of  the 
manures  used  in  the  experiments  was  sown  on  it. 

I  have  heard  it  said  tliat  Mr.  Lawes,  at  this  time,  was  a  believer 
in  what  was  called  "  Liebig's  Mineral  Manure  Theory."  Liebig 
had  .said  that  "  Tiie  crops  on  a  field,  dimiiiisli  or  increa.se  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  diminution  or  increase  of  the  mineral  sul)stance3 
conveyed  to  it  in  manure."  And  enthusia.stic  gentlemen  have  been 
known  to  tell  farmers  who  were  engaged  in  drawing  ont  farm-yard 
manure  to  their  land,  that  they  were  wasting  their  strength ;  all 
they  needed  was  the  minend  elements  of  the  manure.  "And 
you  might,"  they  said,  "  burn  your  manure,  and  sow  the  ashes,  and 
tinis  save  much  time  and  labor.  Tlie  ashes  will  do  just  as  much 
pood  as  the  manure  it.self." 

Whether  Mr.  Lawes  did,  or  did  not  entertain  such  an  opinion,  I 
do  not  know.  It  looks  as  thouglj  the  exi)eriments  the  first  year  or 
two,  were  made  with  tlie  expectation  that  mineral  n'.anures,  or  the 
ashes  of  plants,  were  wliat  the  wheat  needed. 

The  following  table  gives  the  kind  and  quantities  of  manures 
used  per  acre,  and  the  yield  of  wheat  per  acre,  as  carefully  cleaned 
for  market.  Also  the  total  weight  of  grain  per  acre,  and  the 
weight  of  straw  and  chaff  per  acre. 


KXPERIMKNTS    ON    WUEAT. 


171 


Straw  and 
Chaff,     i 

df/«  (f'om 
Straw). 


H    ^1 


ll' 


3: 1^  wO -^  — '      «-*>-»      cc  I        cc  i-»  Ctf -r 

c-r-ccu^  I        l«o  ill       oscom 

»sa>iooo7:.^i^oxaoo<oOA.a-   Steo:? 


:0cco*^cc-xco^cc-^ov-ico 


*£<  iu  fCi  t-»  *i^  U^  o  o  o  b:  b* ;;« o  ^  ?^  iik  iu  1^  iu  C7« 


Com. 

Straw  am/ 
Chaff. 

Total  Pro- 
tluce. 


2>r 

>  O  B 


•30 


Co/-n  to  100 
Straw. 


172  TALKS    ON    MAN  IRKS. 

These  were  the  rcsuHs  of  llie  harvL-st  of  1844.  The  first  year  of 
these  since  cek'bratod  exponiiients. 

If  Mr.  Lawes  e.xpected  that  the  crops  would  be  iu  proportion  to 
the  minerals  supplied  in  the  uiauure,  he  must  have  been  greatly 
disappointed.  The  plot  without  mauure  of  any  kind,  gave  15 
fnishels  of  wheat  per  acre;  700  lbs.  of  superphosphate  of  lime, 
made  from  burnt  bones,  produced  only  ii'6  lbs.  or  about  half  a 
bushel  more  grain  per  acre,  and  4  lbs.  ksi  straw  than  was  obtained 
witliout  manure.  UIO  lbs.  of  superphosphate,  and  G5  lbs.  of  com- 
m^Tcial  sul|)hate  of  ainmonia  (erju  il  to  about  li  lbs.  of  ammonia), 
give  a  little  over  l!)i  Inishels  of  dressed  wheat  j^r  acre.  As  com- 
pared with  the  plot  having  700  lbs.  of  superphi>spl.at<'  per  acre,  this 
14  lbs.  of  available  ammonia  per  acre,  or,  say  lU  lbs.  nitrogen, 
gave  an  increase  of  824  lbs.  of  grain,  and  2o2  lits.  of  straw,  or  a 
total  increase  of  570  lbs.  of  grain  and  straw. 

On  plot  No.  I'J,  81  lbs.  of  sulphate  ammonia,  with  minerals,  pro- 
duces 24i  bushels  per  acre.  This  yield  Is  clearly  due  to  the  am- 
n)onia. 

The  rape-cake  contains  about  5  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  is  also 
ridi  in  minerals  and  r  iroomi^oiin  mutUr.  It  gives  an  increase,  but 
not  as  large  in  proportion  to  tlie  nitrogen  furnislied,  as  the  sul- 
piiate  of  ammonia.  And  the  same  remarks  apply  to  the  14  tons 
of  farm-yard  manure. 

We  slioidd  liave  expected  a  greater  incroa.sp  from  such  a  liberal 
dre.s.sing  of  barn-yard  manure.     I  think  the  explanation  is  this: 

transparont  claps,  sliphtly  deliqnc«C(;nt  in  the  air.  which  was  gronDd  to  a  pow- 

<llT  UIlliiT  OajJl-Ht'lDi'ti. 

^  The  nianuri's  tfrnifd  piiporpliocphato  nf  limo.  phospliat''  of  pnt;»8fi.  phocphate 
(if  !<i>d:i,  mill  ptu>>pli:it<'  of  mairm-ciii.  wrrr  niado  hy  acting  iipnn  hmic-iish  l>y 
nii'Hiis  (if  >iilpliurii'  acid  in  thr  fir-»t  iiictanri-.  and  in  the  ca»""-  <if  lln'  alkiili  salts 
and  till'  nmirni'sian  one  ncntralizini:  thi- rointxiiind  thus  olitaincd  by  moatis  of 
Ciii-ap  preparations  of  the  re-pectivc  liases.  For  the  snperpliopplmte  of  linio, 
the  propdrtions  were  .">  parts  hone-asli.  3  part?  water,  and  ■\  parts  siilplinrie  acid 
of  .sp.  L,'r.  I>1;  and  for  the  plidsphates  iif  potas!".  soda,  and  niafnesia.  they 
were  1  parts  hone-ash.  water  as  needed.  :\  p.art-  sill phurie  acid  of  sp.  pr,  l.si.  and 
et|iiivah-iit  amounts,  respectively,  of  pearl-ash.  soda-ash,  or  a  mixture  of  1 
part  medicinal  carbonate  of  majrnesia,  and  I  narts  mai,'n<'sian  lim<-stone.  'l"he 
mixtures,  of  course,  all  lost  weight  considcraoly  by  the  evolution  of  water  and 
carbonic  acid. 

*  .Made  with  nnbnmt  bones. 

'  In  this  first  season,  neither  the  weiijhl  nor  the  measure  of  the  offal  rorn  was 
recorded  separately  ;  and  in  former  papi-rs,  the  busluds  and  jiecks  of  total  corn 
(including;  otrah  have  erroneously  been  given  as  dressed  corn.  To  brine  the 
records  more  in  conformity  with  those  relating  to  the  other  years  5  per  cent, 
by  weiirhl,  has  been  deducted  from  the  total  corn  previou-ly  stati-d  as  dressed 
corn,  and  is  recorde<i  as  offal  corn  ;  this  being  about  the  probable  protiortion. 
judging  from  the  character  of  the  season,  the  bulk  of  the  crop,  and  the  weight 
per  bushel  of  the  dressed  corn  .Mthough  not  strictly  correct,  the  statements  of 
dresM'd  corn,  as  amended  in  this  somewhat  arbitrarv  way.  will  ap|iroximatc 
more  nearly  to  the  truth,  atid  be  more  ciimparable  with  those  relating  to  other 
BeaBon.s,  than  those  hitherto  recorded. 


EXPEKIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  17;] 

*rbe  luunurc  Iiail  not  Invu  pik'd.  ll  was  probably  taken  oul 
frc'sb  from  the  yard  (tins,  at  auy  rate,  wa-s  the  case  when  1  was  at 
lt<^)thanisted),  and  plowed  under  late  iu  the  season.  Anl  on  this 
heavy  land,  manure  will  lie  l)uried  in  the  soil  for  months,  or,  if  un- 
disturbed, for  years,  without  decomposition.  In  other  words,  while 
this  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure,  contained  at  least  150  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  and  a  larire  (piantity  of  minerals  and  carbonaceous 
matter,  it  did  not  produce  a  bushel  per  acre  n)ore  than  a  manure 
conliiiniMLT  less  than  12  lbs.  of  nitrou'en.  And  on  plot  li),  a  manure 
containini;  less  than  10  lbs.  of  available  nilropr«n,  produced  nearly 
4  bushels  per  acre  more  wheat  than  the  barn-yard  manure  contain- 
ing at  least  Un  times  as  much  nitrogen. 

There  can  l)e  but  one  explanation  of  this  fact.  The  nitrogen  in 
the  manure  lay  dormant  in  this  heavy  soil.  Had  it  been  a  light 
samly  soil,  it  would  have  decomposed  more  rapidly  and  produced 
a  better  effect. 

As  we  have  before  stated,  John  Johnston  finds,  on  his  clay-land, 
a  far  greater  etTect  from  manure  spread  on  the  surface,  whore  it 
decomposes  rapidly,  than  w  hen  the  manure  is  [ilowed  under. 

The  Deacon  was  looking  .at  the  figun-s  in  the  table,  and  not  pa}-- 
ing  much  attention  to  our  talk.  "  What  could  a  man  be  thinking 
about,"  he  said,  "  to  burn  14  tons  of  good  manure  !  It  was  a  great 
waste,  and  I  am  gl.ad  the  a-ihes  did  no  sort  of  good." 

Afler  the  wheat  was  harvested  in  1844,  the  land  was  immedi- 
ately plowed,  harrowed,  etc.  ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  was  i)lowed 
igain  and  sown  to  wheat,  the  different  plots  being  kept  separate, 
as  before. 

The  following  table  shows  the  manures  used  this  second  year, 
and  the  yield  per  acre  : 


174 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


1": 


"? 

Oft 

o  o  *:.^  *x  CO  b«  b*  cc  c*i  o  00  ^  OS  o  x  cc  c.**  c  :;« ao  x  «^  • 


Buj<hel. 


'f''''V^-^'-'^ft'-~V^^r'.'h''''^'iZ^,^'^Z^  — 


Total  Oom. 


Straw  and 

Total  Pro- 
ducf  (Corn 
and  'Straw). 


ii 


OS  J".  OS  -'  n  w  —  A-  ^  pt  r-.  M  *o  J^  »i  I   •*»■ .    w»  #c  v  z?  i 
CC  t;?  ^  —  *».  CO  ■-T'  r^  —  M  •-•  00  *  f  ^  X  I    T  •     *^  —  <^  S* 


Q?n». 


«  « >^  o"  -^  -^ ."  ji  -' .— '  J*  P  'T'  .•'*■  ^  P  r~  9*  ?^  "'  P 
iq  '•-'  ia  ia '— '  bo  Vs  c  30  X  M  Vo  o  iJ  -^  ii  -■  -^^i  —  ■"?_;-*_ 


Straw  and 
Chaff. 

Total 
Produce. 


f.'t    « 


Offal  Corn  to  10() 
T>rf'""'f1. 


s 

2S- 


tOtSOi'i't^O' 


Com  t'l  lUi 
Straw. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT.  175 

The  season  of  1845  was  iiu)rc  favorable  for  wheat,  tlian  that  of 
1844,  and  the  crops  on  all  the  plots  were  better.  On  plot  No.  3, 
whieli  had  no  manure  last  year,  or  this,  the  yield  is  23  bushels  per 
acre,  ajrainst  15  bushels  last  year. 

Lust  year,  the  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  Lrave  an  incrense  of 
only  5i  bushels  per  acre.  This  year  it  gives  an  increase  of  nearly 
9  bushels  per  acre. 

"Do  you  mean,"  said  the  Deacon,  "that  this  plot,  No.  2,  had 
14  tons  of  manure  in  1844,  and  14  ions  of  manure  again  in  1845  ?" 

"  Precisely  that.  Deacon,"  suiil  1,  •'  and  this  same  plot  has  receiv- 
ed this  amount  of  manure  every  year  since,  up  to  the  present  time 
— for  these  same  experiments  are  still  continued  from  year  to  year 
at  Hothamsted." 

"  It  is  poor  farming,"  said  the  Deacon,  "'and  I  should  think  the 
land  would  get  too  rich  to  L'row  wheat." 

"  It  is  not  so,"  said  I,  "and  the  fact  is  an  interesting  one,  and 
teaches  a  most  important  lesson,  of  which,  more  hereafter." 

Plot  5,  last  year,  received  700  lbs.  of  superphosphate  per  acre. 
This  year,  this  plot  was  divided  ;  one  half  was  left  without  ma- 
nure, and  the  other  dressed  with  252  lbs.  of  pure  carbonate  of 
animonia  per  acre.  The  half  without  manure,  (5a),  did  not  pro- 
duce quite  as  much  grain  and  straw  as  the  plot  which  had  received 
no  manure  for  two  years  in  succession.  But  the  wheat  was  of 
better  quality,  weighing  1  lb.  more  per  busliel  tlian  the  other. 
Still  it  is  sufficiently  evident  that  superphosphate  of  lime  did  no 
good  so  far  as  increasing  the  growth  was  concerned,  either  the  first 
year  it  was  applied,  or  the  year  following. 

The  carbonate  of  ammonia  was  dissolved  in  water  and  sprinkled 
over  the  growing  wheat  at  three  different  times  during  the  spring. 
You  see  this  manure,  wliieli  contains  no  mineral  matter  at  all,  gives 
an  increase  of  nearly  4  bushels  of  grain  per  acre,  and  an  increase 
of  887  lbs.  of  straw. 
"  Wait  a  moment,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  not  887  lbs.  of  straw  to 

'  The  mannrpp  termod  PHporphoisphafo  of  lime  and  phosphate  of  potas?,  were 
made  by  acting  upon  bono-aph  hv  moans  of  sulplmiic  acid,  and  in  the  ca-c  of 
the  potass  salt  nontralizins  the  compound  thus  obtained,  by  means  of  pearl-ash. 
For  the  sn-erphoshate  of  lime,  the  proportions  were.  ^  parts  bone-ash.  .3  parts 
water,  and  -i  parts  sulphuric  acid  of  sp.  p:r.  l.'^:  and  for  the  phosphate  of  potass. 
4  parts  bone  ash.  water  as  needed.  :^  parts  snlphuric  acid  of  sp.  pr.  1.84 ;  and  an 
equivalent  amount  of  pearl  ash.  The  mixtnres.  of  course,  lost  weight  consider- 
ably by  the  evolution  of  water  and  carbonic  acid. 

3  The  medicinal  carbonate  of  ammonia;  it  was  dissolved  in  water  and  top- 

dress<^d.  ■■  -,v     n  ■  . 

*  Plot  T}.  was  2  lands  wide  (in  after  vears.  respeetivelv.  .'ia  and  .W  :  5'  con  lift- 
ing of  1  aitf-rnate  one  fourth  lengthsacross  both  landB,  and  .5^  of  the  2  remain- 
ing  oni'-fourth  lenirtlis. 

*  Top-dressed  at  once.    •  Top-dressed  at  4  intervale.    ^  Peruvian.    *  IcliaDoe. 


176  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

4  bushels  of  grain  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  straw  to  grain  ? 
I  have  heard  you  say  that  100  lbs.  of  straw  to  each  bushel  of 
wheat  is  about  the  average.  And  actordiiig  to  this  experiment, 
the  carbonate  of  ;;mtuonia  produced  over  200  lbs.  of  straw  to  a 
bushel  of  grain.     How  do  you  account  for  this." 

"It  is  a  general  rule,"  said  1,  "that  the  heavier  the  crop,  the 
greater  is  the  proportion  of  straw  to  grain.  On  the  no-manure 
plot,  we  have,  this  year,  118  lbs.  of  straw  to  a  bushel  of  dressed 
grain.  Taking  this  as  the  standard,  you  will  find  tliat  the  increase 
from  manures  is  proportionally  greater  in  straw  than  in  grain. 
Thus  in  the  increase  of  barn-yard  manure,  this  year,  we  have 
about  133  lbs.  of  straw  to  a  bushel  of  grain.  I  do  not  believe  there 
is  any  manure  that  will  give  us  a  large  crop  of  grain  without  a 
still  larger  crop  of  straw.  There  is  considerable  difference,  in  this 
respect,  between  different  varieties  of  wheat.  Still,  I  like  to  see  a 
good  growth  of  straw." 


"  It  is  curious,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  3  cwt.  of  ammonia-salts 
alone  on  plots  9  and  10  should  i)roduce  as  much  wheat  as  was 
obtained  from  plot  2,  where  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  had  been 
applied  two  years  in  succession.  I  notice  that  on  one  plot,  the 
ammonia-salts  were  applied  at  once,  in  the  spring,  while  on  tlie 
other  plot  they  were  sown  at  four  different  times — and  that  the 
former  gave  the  best  results." 

The  only  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this,  is,  that  it  is  desirable 
to  apply  the  manure  early  in  the  spring — or  better  still,  in  the 
autumn. 

"  You  are  a  great  advocate  of  Peruvian  guano,"  said  the  Deacon, 
"and  yet  3  cwt  of  Peruvian  guano  on  Plot  13,  only  produced  an 
increase  of  two  bushels  and  643  lbs.  of  straw  per  acre.  The  guano 
at  $60  per  ton,  would  cost  $9.00  per  acre.     This  will  not  pay." 

This  is  an  unusually  small  increase.  The  reason,  probably,  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  manure  and  seed  were  not  sown  until 
March,  instead  of  in  the  autumn.  The  salts  of  ammonia  arc  quite 
soluble  and  act  quickly  ;  while  the  Peruvian  guano  has  to  decom- 
pose in  the  soil,  and  consequently  needs  to  be  applied  earlier, 
especially  on  clay  land. 

"  I  do  not  want  you,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  dodge  the  question 
why  an  ajudication  of  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure  per  acre,  every 
year  for  over  thirty  yea'rs,  does  not  make  the  land  too  rich  for 
wheat." 

"  Possibly,"  said  I,  "  on  light,  sandy  soil,  such  an  annual  dressing 
of  manure  would  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  make  the  land  too 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  177 

rich  for  wheat.  But  on  a  dayey  soil,  such  is  evidently  not  tlic  case. 
And  tue  fact  is  a  very  important  one.  When  we  apply  manure, 
our  object  sliould  be  to  make  it  as  available  as  possible.  Nature 
preserves  or  lonserves  the  food  of  plants.  The  object  of  agricul- 
ture is  to  use  the  food  of  plants  for  our  own  advantage. 

"Please  be  a  little  more  detiuite,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  for  I  must 
confess  I  do  nut  quite  see  the  significance  of  your  remarks." 

"  What  he  means,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  this:  If  you  put  a  quan- 
tity of  soluble  and  available  manure  on  laud,  and  do  not  sow  any 
crop,  the  manure  will  not  be  wasted.  Tiie  soil  will  retain  it.  It 
will  change  it  from  a  soluble  into  a  comparatively  insoluble  form. 
Had  a  crop  been  sown  the  first  year,  the  manure  would  do  far  more 
good  than  it  will  the  next  year,  and  yet  it  may  be  that  none  of  the 
manure  is  lost.  It  is  merely  locked  up  in  the  soil  in  such  a  form 
as  will  prevent  it  from  running  to  waste.  If  it  was  not  for  this 
principle,  our  lands  would  have  been  long  ago  exhausted  of  all 
their  availa!)le  plant-food." 

"  I  think  I  understand,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  but  if  what  you  say 
is  true,  it  upsets  many  of  our  old  notions.  AYe  have  thought  it  de- 
sirable to  plow  under  manure,  in  order  to  prevent  the  ammonia 
from  esc  iping.  You  claim,  I  believe,  that  there  is  little  danger  of 
any  loss  from  spreading  manure  on  the  surface,  and  I  suppose  you 
would  have  us  conclude  that  we  make  a  mistake  in  plowing  it 
under,  as  the  soil  renders  it  insoluble." 

"  It  depends  a  good  deal,"  said  I,  "  on  the  character  of  the  soil. 
A  light,  sandy  soil  will  not  preserve  manure  like  a  clay  soil.  But 
it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  our  aim  in  all  cases  should  be  to  apply 
manure  in  such  a  form  and  to  such  a  crop  as  will  give  us  the  great- 
est immediate  benefit.  Plowing  under  fresh  manure  every  year  for 
wheat  is  evidently  not  the  he-^t  way  to  get  the  greatest  benefit  from 
it.  But  this  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  this  matter.  Let  us  look 
at  the  result  of  Mr,  Lawes'  experiments  on  wheat  the  third  year : " 


178  TALKS    ON    MANURBS. 

ExrBRlMENTS   AT   RoTHAMSTED   ON   THB   GROWTH   OF 
TXBLB      III.  — MANL'BES     AND     rRODlCE ;     3RD    8KA80N,     1845-6. 


Manubes  fir  Acrx. 

^ 

-Is  1  .  '<l     t     1 

j    i^TlJ^'' 

^ 

V3 

1 

1 

1 

(3 

c  S 
Ibt. 

1    14? 1. 

^5  ^-2 

1 

i 

Tons. 

JbB. 

ibg. 

lbs. 

Ibe.  lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

IhB. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

896 

..  (  .. 

1 

.. 

224 

.. 

.  , 

s 

14 

.. 

,, 

,  , 

.. 

.. 

,  , 

8 

Unma 

Dored. 

.. 

.. 

4 

__ 

.. 

9H 

3M 

324 

•»IJ 

::] 

Straw 

•• 

•• 

8»i> 

•• 

»{i 

•• 

ABb. 

,, 

,, 

,  , 

448 

..1 

^^ 

,, 

334' 

^^ 

448 

6a 

iis 

,. 

, , 

6ft 

4«8 

,, 

113 

112     ..   I 

7o 

448 

,, 

44« 

7& 

4^18 

.. 

.. 

113 

112 

448 

to 

U4 

,^ 

44B 

8» 

^, 

8M 

113 

lis 

9a 

^^ 

,, 

,  , 

448 

% 

^, 

,, 

..    XM 

448 

lOa 

^^ 

S34 

106 

Unma 

uarcd. 

.. 

. 

11a 

9»i 

224 

448 

lid 

S&t 

224 

112 

112 

ISa 

180 

224 

2*4 

.. 

448 

12ft 

180 

224 

224 

112 

113 

13a 

sno 

«24 

824     1   .. 

448 

13ft 

..    soo 

224 

224        .. 

113 

113 

14a 

,, 

84 

224 

224        .. 

448 

14ft 

•  • 

84 

224 

224 

113 

113 

ISa 

2»( 

2M  224 

448 

15ft 

a* 

.. 

.. 

224 

..       2i4  224 

448 

16a 

67 

60 

R4 

22  J     224        ..       .. 

448 

IM 

.. 

67     60     84 

2J4     224 

..    224 

448 

170 

67  1  fiO     84 

2i4     2at 

..    112 

113    4481 

17ft 

67 

60     M 

2-24     224 

..    224 

18a 

67 

60 

84 

22^»     224 

..    ,11» 

lis 

18ft 

67 

60 

84 

224     224 

■  • 

.. 

19 

113 1     .. 

118 

113 

448 

80) 

»4 

Mixta 

re  of  the  residae  of  most  of  the  other  mannres.'  . . 

B| 

1        1 



Top-dressed  in  the  Spring. 


BXrERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


179 


Wheat,  Year   after  Year,  on  the  same  Land, 
hahurks    and  seed  ^<>ld    red    lammas),  sown   altumn,  1845. 


-u 


Bush.P'cks.  lh».  lbs 

28        11  ti2..{  i:W 

a     oj  6-2.»i  lai 

27        Of  63.0  113 

17        m  63.8  &t 


«| 

6a 
66 
7a 
76 

8a 

86 

Ua 

96 
l(ki 
106 

llrt 
116 
12a 
126 
Via 
Vib 
14a 
146 

15a 
156 

16a 
166 
17a 
176 
18a 
186 

W 


19 
27 
23 
.30 
20 
29 
22 
31 

23 

29 
*{ 
28 

27 
17 

23 
.30 
24 
28 
24 
29 
2:j 
26 

31 
27 

23 
30 
33 
30 
31 
21 

28 


Jbd. 
I'.KXi 
l.'iii9 
lK2«i 
1207 


Ih8.  !  lbs. 

2.'4.1  44ti7 

IftVl  3462 

24M  4280 

1613  2720 


25   3i  ;63.5  130   1777   2390  4167 


0* 

0 

2* 

01 

li 

0* 

3 


63.7  87 

'6J.0  126 

!t>14  liifl 

'63.3  165 

63.7  1(K' 

|U3.5  111 

16:1.0  '.t7 

&J.4  i:o 


1305 

lSi7 
15W 
21176 
1-lrti 
l'.»67 
1531 
2163 


l.Ml 
23it!l 
17-.'l 
-i'MW 
167r. 
2.'-)71 
19«H 
.•J007 


3J      63.5    101 


6-l.H  1.T2 

6.3.11  ii2 

63.3  114 

63.6  \m 


2i      G:).8     92 


U 

Oi 

H 

2J 

0 

U 

2* 

'-♦ 


03.3  145 
»i.3.2  ].\'i 
6:i.0  125 
fr{4  ]3»i 
6J.5  1.36 
t^3.2  i:« 
6-3.0  117 

63.4  124 


1.54<»  v.m 

19^8  25'.  5 

1614  mm 

11*42  2<0.{ 

18.50  2244 
1216  '   1455 

1628  2133 

20.V>  2715 


1(,61 
l',i.">5 
166* 
1998 


21tL3 
2V>4 
2.327 
2755 


If      61.5    147 
2f      63.0    117 


3 

1 

2f 

2 

0 

1 


62.5  108 

62.7  122 

62.8  129 
63  0  113 
62.S  103 
62.0  157 


16C5  2031 
1812  ,  25.M 

2112  I  29.36 
IStil      2.-)13 

15')2  2067 
201't  ;  2*J6 
22  U  I  .3278 
2034  2784 
204H  2838 
1474      189:^ 


IbK. 

IbP. 

Ib8. 

699 

104S 

1747  7.3 

302 

440 

742  R.i 

619 

941 

15tO  6.6 

7.4 

670 

877 

1447 

7.8 

96 

28 

126 

.. 

620 

796 

1416  :  .. 

891 

208 

599 

.. 

2846 

4136 

.•J.119 

4i.77  I    W;9  ,   1388 

3ti76 

4.-:}H 

srm 
5ro 


1512 
45ta 
.3»;47 
4,'-)45 
4091 
2671 


5018 
4;?74 

3659 
4855 
5519 
4H18 
4«86 
3.367 


62.0  107   1889  2425  4314 


193 
7tlO 
327 
9:,6 


irS 
10.'>8 

405 
1494 


842 

781 
407 


4.50 
1W.2 
.520 


7.35   lOitO 

643   731 

»  I  —58 


.3761 

421 

4-:70 

848 

3^24 

4:a 

Am> 

74H 

39S7 

4m 

47.53 

791 

3f..3C. 

3!t8 

4356 

t»5 

620 
12(12 

(■.50 
1041 

814 


2257 
356 

1818 

732 

2450 

792 

1S43 
927 
1825 
1874 
-49 

1041  9.8  '6.3 

SO.'iO  6.1  75.7 

1104  7.f)  76.8 

7.4  7(i.5 

9.1  71.3 

7.3  72.5 
7.7  79.0 

7.4  71.5 


7.0 
.5.3 
68 

7.5 

7.1 
7.2 
7.9 
7.0 
6.4 


77.3 
74.4 
79.7 

74.3 

84.6 
79.1 
M.8 
71.6 
83  6 
76.5 
77.9 
72.6 

78.9 
77.2 
7!(.4 
74.6 
82.4 


7.8  83.6 


905 
654 


812 

ia34 

827 
841 
267 


1789 

12(i7 

liM2  20.3.3 

518  916 

1021  i626 

1423  2.328 

1100  1654 

554  939 

1.333  2135  K.6  71.2 

1765  2799  5.8  ti8.3 

1271  2C98  5.9  73.0 

1.325  2166  5.1  72.2 

380  M7  6.6  77.1 


7.5  71.9 
5.9  74.0 


■0  77.0 


682   912 


1594  5.8  T7.9 


180  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

This  year,  the  seed  and  manures  were  sown  in  the  autumn.  And 
I  want  the  Deacon  to  look  at  plot  0.  3  cwt.  of  Peruvian  guano 
here  gives  an  increase  of  lOJ  bushels  of  whent,  and  1,048  Ibj?.  of 
straw  per  acre.  This  will  pay  irell^  even  on  the  wheat  alone.  But 
in  addition  to  this,  we  may  expect,  in  t)ur  ordinary  rotation  of 
crops,  a  far  better  crop  of  clover  where  the  guano  was  used. 

In  regard  to  some  of  the  results  this  year,  Messrs.  Lawes  and 
Gilbert  have  the  following  concise  and  interesting  remarks: 

"At  tiiis  third  cxpirimental  harvest,  we  have  on  the  continu- 
ously unmanured  i)l(>t,  namely,  No.  3,  not  quite  18  bushels  of 
dressed  corn,  as  the  normal  produce  of  the  season  ;  and  by  its  side 
we  have  on  plot  106 — comprising  one-half  of  the  plot  10  of  the 
previous  years,  and  so  highly  manured  by  ammoniacal  salts  in  1845, 
but  now  unmanured — rather  more  than  17^  bushels.  The  near 
approach,  again,  to  identity  of  result  from  the  two  unmanured 
plots,  at  once  gives  confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  the  experiments, 
and  shows  us  how  eflfectually  the  preceding  crop  had,  in  a  practi- 
cal point  of  view,  reduced  the  plots,  previously  so  dilTerently  cir- 
cumstanced both  as  to  manure  and  produce,  to  something  like  an 
uniform  standard  as  regards  their  grain-produfing  qualiti  s. 

"  Plot  2  has,  as  before,  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure,  and  the 
produce  is  27i  bushels,  or  between  9  and  10  bushels  more  than 
witliout  manure  of  any  kind. 

"On  plot  lOti,  which  in  the  previous  year  gave  ly  ammoniacal 
salts  alone,  a  produce  equal  to  that  of  the  farm-yard  manure,  we 
have  again  a  similir  result:  for  two  cwts.  of  sulpliate  of  ammonia 
has  now  given  1,850  lbs.  of  total  corn,  instead  of  1,826  ll)s.,  which 
is  the  produce  on  plot  2.  The  straw  of  the  latter,  is,  however, 
slightly  heavier  than  that  by  the  ammoniacal  salt. 

"Again,  plot  5/,  which  was  in  the  previous  season  unmanured, 
was  now  subdiviled:  on  one-half  of  it  (namely,  5a')  we  have  the 
ashes  of  wheat-straw  alone,  by  which  there  is  an  increase  of  rather 
more  than  one  busl  3I  per  acre  of  ilressed  com ;  on  the  other  half 
(or  5/')  we  have,  besides  the  straw-ashes,  two  cwts.  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia  put  on  as  a  top-dressing :  two  cwts.  of  sulphate  of  am- 
monia have,  in  this  case,  only  increa.sed  the  produce  beyond  that 
of  5a'  by  7J  bushels  of  corn  and  768  lbs.  of  straw,  instead  of  by 
9^  4  bushels  of  corn  and  78!)  lbs.  of  straw,  which  was  the  increase 
obtained  by  the  same  amount  of  ammoniacal  salt  on  lO-J,  as  com- 
pared with  106. 

"  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  in  the  former  ca.<?e  the  am- 
moniacal salts  were  top-dressed,  but  in  the  hitter  tliey  were  drilled 
at  the  time  of  sowing  the  seed  ;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  in 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WUKAT.  181 

1845  the  result  was  better  ««  to  corn  on  plot  9,  •where  the  salts  were 
sown  earlier,  than  on  plot  10,  whire  tlie  top-dressing  extended  far 
into  the  spring.  Wo  have  had  several  direct  instances  of  this  kind  in 
our  experience,  and  we  would  pive  it  as  a  s'lirgestion,  in  most  cases 
applicable,  that  manures  for  wheat,  and  especially  ammoniacal 
ones,  should  be  applied  before  or  at  the  time  the  seed  is  sown  ; 
for,  although  the  apparent  luxuriance  of  the  crop  is  greater,  and 
the  produce  of  straw  really  heavier,  by  spring  rather  than  autumn 
sowings  of  Peruvian  guano  and  other  ammoniacal  manures,  yet  we 
believe  that  that  of  the  corn  will  not  be  increased  in  an  equivalent 
degree.  Indeed,  the  success  of  the  crop  undoubtedly  depends  very 
materially  on  the  progress  of  the  underground  growth  during  the 
winter  months;  and  this  again,  other  things  being  equal,  upon  the 
quantity  of  available  nitrogenous  constituents  within  the  soil,  with- 
out a  liberal  provision  of  which,  the  range  of  the  fibrous  feeders 
of  the  plant  will  not  be  such,  as  to  take  up  the  minerals  which  the 
soil  is  competent  to  supply,  and  in  such  quantity  as  will  be  required 
during  the  after  progress  of  the  plant  for  its  healthy  and  favorable 
growth." 

These  remarks  arc  very  suggestive  and  deserve  special  attention. 

"The  next  result  to  be  noticed,"  continue  Messrs.  Lawes  and 
Gilbert,  "is  that  obtained  on  plot  6,  now  also  divided  into  two 
equal  portions  designated  respectively  Ga  and  66.  Plot  No.  6  had 
for  the  crop  of  1844,  superphosphate  of  lime  and  the  phosphate  of 
magnesia  manure,  and  for  that  of  1845,  superphosphate  of  lime, 
rape-cake,  and  ammoniacal  salts.  For  this,  the  third  season,  it 
was  devoted  to  the  trial  of  the  wheat-manure  manufactured  under 
the  sanction  of  Professor  Licbig,  and  patented  in  this  country. 

"  Upon  plots  6  ',  four  cwts.  per  acre  of  the  patent  wheat-manure 
were  used,  which  gave  201  bushels,  or  rather  more  than  two 
bushels  beyond  the  produce  of  the  unmanured  plot;  but  as  the 
manure  contained,  besides  the  minerals  peculiar  to  it,  some  nitro- 
genous compounds,  giving  off  a  very  perceptible  odor  of  ammonia, 
some,  at  least,  of  the  increase  would  be  due  to  that  substance.  On 
plot  (Sb,  however,  the  furtlicr  addition  of  one  cwt.  each  of  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia  to  this  so-called  'Mineral  Manure,'  givrs 
a  produce  of  29^  bushels.  In  other  words,  the  addition  of  ammoni- 
acal salt,  to  Liebig's  mineral  manure  has  increased  the  produce  by 
very  nearly  9  bushels  per  acre  beyond  that  of  the  mineral  manure 
alone,  whilst  the  increase  obtained  over  the  unmanured  plot,  by 
14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure,  was  only  9^^  bushels  ! 

The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
fourth  ye&T,  1846-7. 


182 


TALKS    ON    MAXQRES. 
Experiments  at  Rothamsted  on  the  Growth  of 

TABLE    IV.— MANURES     AND    PRODCCE  ;     4TH      8KAS0N,     1846-7. 


Hancreb  per  Acrb. 

1 

■3 

g 

ti 
IS 

1 

SuperphosphaU  of  Lime. 

1 

^ 

1 
1 

■a 
^^ 

SI- 

IbB. 

t 

Tons. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

6U0 

1 

200 

200 

350 

60 

9 

14 

,, 

3 

Unmanurcd. 

4 

2(10 

200 

900 

6a 

200 

200 

150 

150 

56 

2()0 

200 

150 

150 

600 

6a 

.. 

ir.0 

150 

f* 

150 

150 

7a 

l.V) 

l.-JO 

lb 

150 

150 

Prt 

2on 

200 

150 

1.50 

500 

W> 

200 

200 

200 

200 

9a" 
^(2 

2240 

i.-io 

ir« 

96 

150 

150 

.. 

lOo 

1.50 

1.50 

10ft 

l.V) 

150 

lla 

100 

100 

1.50 

150 

116 

100 

100 

150 

150 

12a 

100- 

100 

150 

150 

116 

100 

100 

l.';0 

150 

1.3a 

.. 

100 

100 

L-JO 

l.V) 

1.36 

100 

100 

iro 

150 

14a 

mo 

100 

LV) 

150 

146 

100 

100 

150 

150 

15a 

200 

200 

.300 

500 

156 

200 

200 

300 

500 

ICa 

100 

100 

150 

150 

166 

100 

100 

l.-JO 

150 

17a 

100 

100 

l.V) 

l.'O 

176 

100 

100 

2()0 

200 

,  , 

18a 

100 

100 

150 

150 

186 

100 

100 

ISO 

1.0 

19 

100 

100 

3C0 

600 

30 

Unmanurcd. 

21 
22 

Mixture  of  the 

residue  of  most  of  the  other 

manures. 

)l 


KXPKRIMKNTS    UX    WIIKAT. 
Wheat,    Yeak  after   Year,    on   toe   same   Land. 
manrbxb  amd  6uo   (old  heu  lamxabk  sown  end  op  octobxb,  1846. 


183 


Pbodcck  per  Acrb,  Ac 

Increase  ^  Acri 
1   Bt  Manure. 

J 

Dremd  Com.   , 

i 

1   . 

^_, 

^ 

5| 

^ 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

. 

s 

s 

8 

a 

5 

t<3 

0 

1 

a 
,1 

Total  Corn 
Straw  and 

SI 

e 

§ 

1 

BuBh.P'ckfl. 

Iba. 

lbs. 

lbs.   lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

Ib-S. 

0 

31) 

2t 

01. 1 

1..6 

2031 

8277 

5.3(« 

9u8 

1375 

2i8.3 

8.2 

61.9 

1 

32 

1 

Gl.2 

117 

2119 

37.% 

5-;5l 

996 

1833 

28i9 

7.2 

.50  7 

s 

39 

3» 

r.2.3 

117 

19*tl 

.3ii-.i8 

5  0.» 

858 

1736 

2584 

6.2 

54.6 

8 

16 

3* 

61  0 

9o 

1133 

l'.»02 

3025 

8.9 

59.0 

4 

37 

1» 

61.9 

1 

8S 

1780 

2948 

4728 

657 

1046 

1703 

4.7 

60.3 

6a 

29 

0 

61  8 

130 

1921 

3412 

5.333 

798 

1510 

2.309 

7.1 

56.3 

U 

32 

3 

01.4  li6 

21.32 

3721 

.58.Vi 

loOlt 

1819 

28-27  6.G 

57.2 

6a 

24 

■^ 

6M  Vii 

106.3 

2786 

4449 

.540 

»a 

1124  7.S 

50.6 

66 

2t 

n 

01. »;  127 

lt;32 

2<Xi 

44  ;5 

509 

901 

1410  8-2 

58.2 

7a 

27 

3i 

61.7  113 

ia« 

3151 

4'.K-) 

711 

1249 

i:6f)  6.S 

.58.2 

76 

25 

li 

61.5  125 

1682 

2't5.3 

4035 

559 

1051 

1010 

7.!i 

.%.9 

8a 

.32 

1} 

63.1  102 

2115 

.3<a3 

5798 

992 

1781 

2773 

5.5 

57.4 

86 

33 

3 

61.7  123 

2020 

3720 

574) 

897 

1818 

2715 

6.3 

54.3 

^11 

22 

3 

oi..-;  . . 

1477 

2o<t6 

3.i8:J 

228 

IM 

5;i.9 

2() 

2 

(51.0 

1755 

3052 

4S'i7 

0.32 

1150 

57.5 

96 

26 

0 

61.3 

1« 

1717 

2a-.8 

4575 

534 

966 

1550 

60.1 

10a 

•25 

3 

61.5 

118 

1702 

2891 

4.-,93 

579 

98!) 

1.508 

7.3 

58.8 

106 

So 

8i 

61.2 

l:J3 

1705 

9874 

45T9 

582 

972 

1554 

8.2 

.59.3 

lla 

30 

3* 

61.6 

142 

2044 

.3517 

5.501 

921 

1615 

2536 

6.3 

59.5 

116 

29 

li 

Gl.S 

12:3 

1911 

.3203 

5141 

818 

1.301 

2119 

0.7 

60.6 

Ui 

29 

2 

62.0 

124  , 

1:15.3 

.34.-/2 

.5415 

830 

15.50   2.380 

6.0 

.57.1 

136 

37 

o« 

•il.S 

121  1 

17..6 

3124 

49;o 

673 

1222   1895 

7.1 

57  4 

13a   ! 

3) 

2* 

02.5' 

103 

195.» 

•i30«i 

.52/:5 

8:J6 

1404   '2240 

5.5 

57.3 

136   1 

37 

u 

02.3 

96 

ISOl 

3171 

4972 

678 

1209 

1947 

5.3 

56.7 

14a 

33 

01 

j2.S 

175 

1:114 

.3362  ! 

5.306 

821 

1400 

2281 

9.7 

.59.5 

146 

36 

3* 

62.8 

166 

1856 

3006  1 

48«i2 

7.33 

1104 

18:^7 

9.8 

61.7 

15a 

32 

3 

63.0 

151 

2214 

.3876 

6090 

1091 

1974 

3065  ' 

7.2 

57.1 

156 

32 

0 

62.6 

1 

137 

2140 

»il7  1 

5757 

1017 

1715  , 

27.32 

6.6 

59.1 

16a 

29 

U 

'■.2.3 

1.32 

10.-)9 

.3417 

5376 

R36 

1515 

2351 

6.9 

57  3 

166 

34 

2i 

02.6 

119 

22*3 

4012 

02!t5 

1160 

2110 

3270 

5.2 

56.9 

17a 

:« 

3 

02.3 

nrt 

2222 

40-27 

6249 

10ft9  ' 

21-25 

3224 

5.6  ' 

55.1 

176 

:« 

1( 

62.0 

117 

2314 

42«il 

0.57.5 

1191  . 

2-i59 

.3.VO 

6.4 

54.3 

183 

32 

0* 

62.7 

142 

2160 

.38.52 

6012 

10:?7 

1950 

•29'<7 

69 

56.0 

186 

39 

n 

62.9 

1 

181  1 

2029 

4101 

6193 

906 

22«i2  , 

3168 

9.7  , 

48.7 

19 

32 

3 

62.8  140 

2195 

4202  , 

6397 

1072 

2.300  ' 

3372 

6.7; 

53.3 

30 

20 

Of 

62.5  70 

13.;2 

2074 

3406 

309 

172 

381 

4.9  i 

64.3 

311 

32  r 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

••   ••. 

184  TALKS    OX   MANURES. 

Here  again,  I  want  the  Deacon  to  look  at  plot  0,  where  500  Iba. 
Peruvian  guano,  sown  in  October,  gives  an  increase  of  nearly  14 
bushels  of  dressed  wheat  and  1,375  lbs.  of  stniw  per  acre.  On  plot 
2,  where  14  tons  of  bam  yard  manure  have  now  been  applied  four 
years  in  succession  (56  tons  in  all),  there  is  a  little  more  straw,  but 
not  quite  so  much  grain,  as  from  the  500  lbs.  of  guano. 

"But  will  the  guauu,"  said  the  Deaoon,  "be  as  lasting  as  the 
manure  ?" 

"  Not  for  wheat,"  said  I.  "  But  if  you  seed  the  wheat  d(jwn  with 
clover,  as  would  be  the  case  in  this  section,  we  should  get  consid- 
erable benefit,  probably,  from  the  guano.  If  wheat  was  sown  after 
the  wheat,  the  guano  applied  the  previous  season  would  do  little 
good  on  the  second  crop  of  wheat.  And  yet  it  i.s  a  matter  of  fact 
lliat  there  would  l^e  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  guano  left  in 
the  soil.  The  wlieat  cannot  take  it  up.  But  tlie  clover  can.  And 
we  all  know  tliat  if  we  can  grow  good  cro|)s  of  clover,  plowing  it 
under,  or  feeding  it  out  on  the  land,  or  making  it  into  hay  and 
saving  the  manure  obtained  from  it,  we  shall  tlius  be  enabled  to 
raise  good  crops  of  wheat,  barley,  oats,  potatoes,  and  corn,  and 
in  this  sense  guano  is  a  '  lasting '  manure." 

"  Barnyard-manure,"  3;iid  the  Doctor,  "  is  altogether  too  '  last- 
ing.' Here  we  have  had  56  tons  of  manure  on  an  acre  of  land  in 
four  years,  and  yet  an  acre  dressed  with  500  lbs.  of  guano  produces 
just  as  good  a  crop.  Tlie  manure  contains  far  more  plant-food,  of 
all  kinds,  than  the  guano,  but  it  is  so  '  la.-^ting'  tliat  it  <loes  not  do 
half  as  much  good  as  its  composition  would  lead  us  to  expect.  It3 
'  histing' properties  are  a  decided  objection,  rather  tlian  an  ad- 
vantage. If  we  could  make  it  less  lasting — in  other  words,  if  we 
could  make  it  act  quicker,  it  would  produce  a  greater  eflfect,  and 
possess  a  greater  value.  In  proportion  to  iis  constituents,  the 
barn-yard  manure  is  far  cheaper  than  the  guano,  but  it  has  a 
less  beneficial  eflP^ct,  because  these  constituents  are  not  more  com- 
pletely decomposed  and  rendered  available." 

"  Tliat,''  said  I,  "  opens  up  a  very  important  question.  "We  have 
more  real  value  in  manure  than  most  of  us  are  as  yet  able  to  bring 
out  and  turn  to  good  accoimt.  The  sandy-land  farmer  has  an  ad- 
vantage over  the  clay-land  farmer  in  this  respect.  Tiio  latter  has  a 
naturally  richer  soil,  but  it  costs  him  more  to  work  it,  and  manure 
docs  not  act  so  rapidly.  The  clay-land  farmer  siiould  use  his  best 
endeavors  to  decompose  his  manure." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and,  like  John  Johnston,  he  will  prob- 
ably find  it  to  his  advantage  to  use  it  larircly  as  a  top-dressing  on 
the  surface.    Exposing  manure  to  the  atmosphere,  spread  out  on 


EXPERIMENTS    ON'    WIIKAT.  185 

the  land  for  sevrral  months,  ami  liarrowiii:;  it  occasionally,  will 
do  niiRii  to  rcniKr  its  constituents  availal)lc.  But  let  us  return  to 
Mr.  Lawes'  wonderful  exiKTiincnts." 

"On  eight  plots,"  said  1,  "300  lbs.  of  ammonia-salts  were  used 
without  any  other  manures,  and  the  average  yield  on  these  eight 
plots  was  nearly  20  bushels  per  acre,  or  an  average  increase  of  9 
bushels  per  acre.  The  same  amount  of  ammonia-salts,  with  the 
addition  of  Buperphosphate  of  lime,  gave  an  increase  of  13  bushels 
per  acre.  400  lbs.  ammonia  salt.s,  with  superphosphate  of  lime, 
gave  an  increia..  of  nearly  Ki  bushels  per  acre,  or  throe  bushels 
per  acre  more  than  where  14  tons  of  barn  yard  manure  had  been 
i\sed  four  years  in  succession. 

"  I  hope,  after  this,  the  Deacon  will  forgive  me  for  dwelling  on 
the  value  of  available  nitrogen  or  ammonia  as  a  manure  for 
wheat." 

"  1  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  ground  r!ee  was  used  this  year 
for  manure  ;  and  in  184o,  tupioca  was  also  used  as  a  manure.  The 
Connecticut  Tobacco  growers  a  few  years  since  used  corn-meal  for 
manure,  and  you  thought  it  a  irreat  waste  of  good  food." 

I  think  so  still.  But  we  will  not  di.scuss  the  matter  now.  Mr. 
Lawos  wanted  to  ascertain  whether  cirfx)naceo"8  matter  was  needed 
hj  the  growing  wheat-plants,  or  whether  they  could  get  ad  they 
needed  from  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere.  The  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  carbonaceous  matter  supplied  by  the  barn-yard  manure,  it 
is  quite  evident,  are  of  little  value  as  a  manure  for  wheat.  And 
the  rice  seems  to  have  done  very  little  more  good  than  we  should 
expect  from  the  22  lbs.  of  nitrogen  which  it  contained.  The  large 
quantity  of  carbonaceous  matter  evidently  did  little  good.  Avail 
able  carbonaceous  matter,  such  as  starch,  sugar,  and  oil.  was  in- 
tended as  food  for  man  and  beast — not  as  food  for  wheat  or 
tobacco. 

The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
fifth  year,  lt^7-8. 


186 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 
Experiments  at  Rothamsted  on  the  Growth  of 

TABLE     y. — MANURES     AND     PRODCCK  ;       5TH     8KA80N,     1847-8. 


Manu 

RE8  FBB  ACRB. 

auperphogphaU    of 

Q 

Q 

S" 

"^ 

1     Lime. 

s 

1. 
1. 

s 

0 

^ 

1 
•a  • 

a 

1 

1 

1 

OS 

1 

}l 

1 

Boneath. 

Sulphuric  Acid 
(^p.  gr.  1.7.) 

1" 

1 

1 
1 

Tons. 

lbs. 

IbB.  lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs.  1  lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

1 

3 

2340 

.. 

•• 

14 

■• 

•* 

][ 

3 

Unina 

nnrcd. 

•  • 

" 

•• 

4 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

300 

5o 

300 

200  100 

200 

150 

250 

250 

5* 

300 

201  100 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

500 

6a 

400 

300 

200 

200 

6A 

200 

150 

200 

200 

7a 

■■ 

400 

300 

150 

150 

500 

76 

200 

1.50 

150 

150 

500 

8a 

300 

2iX) 

100 

200 

150 

., 

86 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

.. 

9a 

,^ 

200 

150 

9b 

._ 

■■ 

■■ 

200 

150 

150 

150 

10a 

150 

150 

.. 

106 

300 

2O0 

i66 

;; 

266 

150 

150 

150 

11a 

200 

1.50 

150 

150 

500 

116 

200 

150 

200 

200 

12a 

300 

200 

150 

150 

150 

500 

126 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

l.-^a 

300 

200 

150 

150 

1.50 

500 

Vib 

.300 

200 

150 

2  0 

200 

Ua 

300 

200 

150 

150 

150 

s66 

146 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

•• 

1.5a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

.. 

156 

300 

200 

100 

200 

•  . 

200 

300 

•• 

16a 

300 

200 

100 

200   150 

1.50 

1.50 

500 

166 

300 

200 

100 

2 10   150 

,, 

150 

150 

500 

170 

300 

200 

ii;o 

200   150 

,, 

200 

200 

176 

300 

':;oo 

100 

200   1.50 

200 

200 

18a 

300 

200 

100 

200  \   150 

•  • 

150 

150 

186 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

150 

150 

19 

• 

200 

300 

300 

., 

500 

20 

Unma 

Qurcd. 

.. 

• 

.. 

.. 

.. 

21 
33 

•• 

" 

•• 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 
Wheat,  Yeak  aftbu  Yeak,  on  tub  same  Land, 
kamubxb    and    bekd    (.old    red    lamma^)    sown    autcmn,    1847. 


IS-? 


PRODCCB  PKR  ACRS,  ETC. 


Increase  $  Acre 
I      Ut  Manure 


Dressed  Com. 


1^ 


1 

^ 

<: 

e 

e 

•a 

fc 

^ 

C 

C 

cs 

o» 


Bui<b.  Pks.  Ibfl.  lbs. 

19  0^  5S.4  l:iS 

16  0*  yx6  160 

25  2J   58.2  210 

14  3   57.3  106 


30 
24 
26 
30 
39 

19 
19 
18 
25 
lit 
25 

39 
24 
29 
26 
39 
25 
28 
25 

23 

24 

39 

30 
87 
28 
26 
26 

29 
16 


lbs.  i  lbs. 

l;io9  I  2074 

11 -'4  I  n;)5 

17.)5  I  3041 

952  1712 


»4   OJ  58.5  172   1583  I  2713 


3* 

■"♦ 

3i 

3 

3i 

3i 

3 

01 

2J 

^'i 

1 


59.2  IM 

.-.9.1  107 

5-i.S  214 

56.9  2Hi 

59.4  106 

59.6  187 

56.2  1.54 

59.4  127 

56.7  1J5 
5-!.  3  a)8 
58.1  215 

57.8  1.55 


H 

50.6 

m 

3 

57.9 

207 

3 

50.3 

174 

o» 

.59.2 

167 

U 

57.9 

25.3 

3J 

5S.4 

224 

OJ 

58.8 

184 

n 

58.5 

227 

3+ 

5S.1 

242 

2| 

5'i.9 

202 

Si 

60.0 

184 

H 

58.4 

171 

'•♦ 

59.7 

2S5 

Si 

,59.7 

222 

3 

59.'i 

150 

n 

59.6 

215 

n 

56.2 

185 

Ci 

58.3 

111 

1911 
1932 
1G72 
17.37 
1!»:36 
1!»6.3 

1263 
12C7 
llSl 
100.1 

la-u 

l(i04 

1984 
1041 
1933 
1717 
1955 
1730 
1834 
1726 

1.571 
1607 

1073 
1048 
19:33 
1946 
1734 
1S04 

18:« 
1050 


3206 
;j5:i3 
2i78  I  4550 


2:2 


lbs. 
a3.3.3 
2859 
474ii 
2664 

4296 

5177 
5465 


2fl;« 
30-;8 
»113 

2317 
2118 
1015 
2918 
2;07 
2926 

.3274 
2803 
.3:590 
2';80 
.3090 
3')72 
3257 
2897 

2937 
3016 

3115 
3:380 
3296 
.3324 
2'i:35 
305!) 

3205 
1721 


4T05 
5024 
5376 

3.580 
3115 
3126 
4-87 
3701 
45.30 

5258 
4539 
5-K8 
4597 
5245 
4802 
5001 
4623 

4508 
4623 

.5088 
5.3:8 
5220 
5270 
4(i69 
4H60 

61.^3 
2771 


lbs. 

lbs. 

307 

363 

172 

23 

7.53 

1.329 

ft31 

1001 

959 

1.551 

980 

1S21 

720 

llC(i 

7S5 

1256 

9^1 

1.376 

1011 

1701 

311 
315 

2-:!o 

717 
3S2 
652 

1032 
689 
9S6 
765 

1003 
778 
882 
774 

619 

055 

1021 
9 '6 
981 
994 

782 
852 


98 


605 
436 
2:^3 

1206 
655 

1214 

1562 
11S6 
I'mS 
1168 
1578 
1:^60 
1.545 
1185 

1225 

1304 

1403 
W,H 
1.-.81 
1612 
122.3 
1:344 

1583 
9 


lbs. 

660 

195 

2082 


916 

751 

462 

1923 

1037 
1866 


13.4  60.7 
16.3  G4.7 
13.H  56.0 
12.1  55.6 


1632  12.0;68.3 

2513  7.0  58.5 

2«01  ,  5.S  57  5 

1886  11.653.0 

2041  14.0  58  5 

23(;0  5.7  02.6 

2712  10.3  67.5 


2594 

1875 
26(14 
10.3-3 
2.581 
21.38 
2427 
1959 

1814 
19.59 

2424 
2(;64 
2565 
2606 
20f)5 
2196 

2469 

107 


13.6  54.5 
11.1  5S.8 

11.6  60.7 
13.0  57.1 

10.0  C0.3 
30.654.8 

1.3.1 1 60.6 

14.1  50.4 
9.:!  57.2 

10.7  59.6 
14.7  50.4 
14.6  56.3 
11.1  56.3 
15.1  59.5 

18.1 '.53.4 

14.1  53.2 
1    I 

10.2  63.3 
9  4  57.6 

17.0  .58.6 
12.6  .58.5 
9.2  59.0 

13.3  58.7 

10.4  55.7 
11.3  61.0 


188  TALKS   OJf   MANUEES. 

This  season  was  consiilered  unfavorable  for  wheat.  The  con- 
tinuously uumanurcd  plot  iiroduci-d  UJ  bushels,  and  the  plot 
nctiviiij,'  14  tons  of  barn  yard  manure,  35J  busiiels  per  acre  nearly. 

300  lbs.  of  ammonia-salts  alone  on  plot  lOa,  pave  lOJ^  bushels 
per  acre,  while  the  same  quantity  of  an^monia,  with  superphos- 
piiale  in  a<ldition,  gave,  on  plot  96,  25  bushels  per  acre. 

The  addition  to  the  above  manures  of  300  11)S.  of  potash,  200  lbs. 
soda,  and  100  lbs.  sulphate  of  magnesia,  on  plot  10/<,  gave  pre- 
cisely tlie  same  yield  per  acre  as  the  ammonia  and  the  superphos- 
jdiate  alone.    I'he  potanh^  »id'i,  <ind  inug/ie-ni,  Owrcfore,  did  no  good. 

400  ilts.  of  ammoiiia-sjilts,  with  superphosphate,  potash,  etc.,  gavci 
on  plot  176,  nearly  20  busiiels  per  acre,  or  3A  bushels  more  than  the 
plot  which  has  now  received  70  t<nis  of  barn-yard  manure  in  five 
successive  years. 

*'  I  see  that,  on  plot  0,"  said  the  Deacon,  "one  ton  of  superphos- 
phate was  used  i)cr  acre,  and  it  gave  only  half  a  bushel  per  acre 
more  than  350  lbs.  on  9a." 

"This  proves,"  said  I,  "  that  an  excessive  dose  of  superphos- 
phate will  do  no  harm.  I  am  not  sure  that  100  Hw.  of  a  good 
superiiliosphatc  f7n7/^(Z  in  ic'lh  the  sod,  would  not  have  done  a» 
much  good  as  a  t<jn  per  acre." 

"  You  say,"  remarked  the  Deacon,  "  that  the  .season  was  unfa- 
vorable for  wheat.  And  yet  the  no-manure  plot  produced  nearly 
15  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre." 

"That  is  all  true,"  said  I,  "and  yet  the  season  was  undoubtedly 
an  unfavorable  one.  This  is  shown  not  only  in  the  less  yield,  but 
in  tlu!  inferior  quality  of  the  grain.  The  '  dre.s.sed  corn  '  on  tiie  no- 
manure  plot  this  year  only  weighed  57^  lbs.  per  bushel,  while  last 
year  it  weighed  01  lbs.  per  bushel." 

"By  the  way,"  said  the  Doctor,  "what  do  Messrs.  Lawcs  and 
Gilbert  mean  by  '  dressed  corn'  V  " 

"  By  '  corn,' "  said  I,  "  they  mean  wiieat  ;  and  by  '  dressed  com ' 
they  nican  wheat  that  has  been  run  through  a  fanning-mill  until 
all  tlie  liirht  and  shrunken  grain  is  blown  or  sieved  out.  In  other 
words,'  dressed  corn '  is  wheat  carefully  cleaned  for  market.  The 
English  farmers  take  more  pains  in  cleaning  their  grain  than  we 
do.  And  this  '  dressed  corn'  was  as  clean  as  a  good  fanning-mill 
could  make  it.  You  will  observe  that  there  was  more  'oflfal  corn' 
this  year  tlian  last.     This  also  indicates  an  unfavorable  season." 

"It  would  have  been  very  interesting,"  said  the  Doctor,  "if 
Mes.srs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  had  analyzed  the  wheat  produced  by  the 
different  manures,  so  that  we  might  have  known  something  in  re- 


EXPERIMENTS    OX    WHEAT.  IRO 

garl  to  the  quality  of  tin-  rtour  as  influenced  by  the  use  of  different 
fertilizers." 

"They  did  that  very  thing,"  said  I,  "and  not  only  that,  but 
they  made  the  wheat  crown  on  ditterent  plots,  into  flour,  and  as- 
certaini'd  the  yield  of  flour  from  a  given  weight  of  wheat,  anil  the 
amount  of  bran,  middlings,  etc.,  etc.  They  obtained  some  very 
interesting  and  important  results.  I  was  there  at  the  time.  But 
til  is  is  not  the  plac'  to  discuss  the  question.  1  am  often  amused, 
however,  at  the  remarks  wc  often  hear  in  regard  to  the  inferior 
quality  of  our  wheat  a.s  compared  to  what  it  was  when  the  country 
was  new.  Many  seem  to  think  tiiat  '  there  is  something  lacking  in 
the  soil' — some  say  potasli,  and  some  phosphates,  and  some  ihis, 
anil  some  that.  I  believe  nothing  of  the  kind.  Depend  upon  it, 
the  variety  of  the  wheat  and  the  soil  and  season  have  much  more 
to  do  with  the  quality  or  slremrth  of  the  flour,  tlian  the  chemical 
composition  of  the  manures  applied  to  the  land." 

"At  any  rate,"  said  tlic  D  )ctor,  "  we  may  be  satisfied  that  any- 
thing tliat  will  produce  a  vigorous,  healthy  growth  of  wheat  ia 
favorable  to  quality.  We  may  u.se  manures  in  excess,  and  thus 
produce  over-luxuriance  and  an  unhealthy  growth,  and  have  poor, 
shrunken  grain.  In  this  case,  it  is  not  the  use,  but  the  abuse  of 
the  manure  that  does  the  mischief.  We  must  not  manure  higher 
than  the  season  will  bear.  As  yet,  this  question  rarely  troubles  us. 
Hitherto,  as  a  rule,  our  seasons  are  better  than  our  farming.  It 
may  not  always  be  so.  We  maj*  find  the  liberal  use  of  manure  so 
profitable  that  we  shall  occasionally  use  it  in  excess.  At  present, 
however,  the  tendency  is  all  the  other  way.  Wc  have  more  grain 
of  inferior  quality  from  lack  of  fertility  tlian  from  an  excess  of 
I)lant-food." 

"  Tiiat  may  be  true,"  said  I,  ''  but  we  have  more  poor,  inferior 
wheat  from  lack  of  draining  and  good  culture,  than  from  lack  of 
plant-food.  Red-root,  thistles,  cockle,  and  chess,  have  done  more 
to  injure  the  reputation  of '  Genesee  Flour,'  than  any  other  one 
thing,  and  I  should  like  to  bear  more  said  about  thorouirh  cultiva- 
tion, and  the  destruction  of  weeds,  and  less  about  soil  exhaustion." 

The  following  table  shows  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
$ixlh  year,  1848^9. 


190 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 
Experiments  at  Rothamsted  on  the  Growth  of 

TABLB    VI.— MANURKS     AND     PRODUCE;     6TH     8EAB0N,      1848-9. 


Manures  per  Acre. 

. 

Suj)erpIu>8phaU  qf  Lane. 

1 

i 

M 

t5 

.»; 

s 

s 

^ 

1 

"3  V 

1 

^^2 

^2 

1 

11 

1 

*5 

1 

•|fe> 

4J 

1 

B 

1 

BQ 

If 

>> 

1 

1 

Tons.    lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

IbB. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

600 

450 

.. 

1 

'.'.   '  (>66 

400 

900 

.. 

.. 

2 

14 

, , 

,  , 

., 

3 

UnmaDnred. 

•  • 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

4 

•• 

200 

200 

300 

6a 

.300       200 

100 

200 

150 

2.->0 

250 

5b 

300       200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

500 

6a 

, , 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

66 

.3(>0 

200 

100 

200 

I.IO 

200 

200 

la 

m^ 

2t)0 

100 

200 

liJO 

20() 

200 

lb 

3(X) 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

8a 

Unmanurcd. 

eb 

^. 

_. 

2000 

9a 

. .     1     .. 

\\ 

2000 

9b 

Unmannred. 

, , 

10a 

;, 

200 

aoo 

106 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

11a 

" 

200 

150 

200 

200 

lib 

200 

150 

200 

200 

12a 

300 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

126 

.soo 

200 

l.V) 

200 

200 

13a 

300 

200 

ir,0 

200 

200 

136 

300 

aoo 

1.50 

2<i0 

200 

14a 

.300 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

146 

300 

.. 

200 

150 

200 

200 

15a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

156 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

500 

Ifia 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

166 

:ioo 

200 

100 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

17« 

300 

200 

100 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

176 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

20C 

200 

18a 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

186 

300 

200 

100 

200 

l.')0 

200 

200 

M 

200 

200 

300 

f 

500 

20 

Unmannred. 

.. 

.. 

.. 

21  I 
29.  f 

Mixture  of  the  reei 

due  of  most  of  the  other  mam 

ires. 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


191 


Wheat,  Year  after  Year,  on  tde  same  Land. 
■ancrb!>  and    8ked    (red    clcstir),    sown    autumn,    1818. 


19 

30 

2U 

22( 


1* 

64.5 

101 

at 

W.fi 

75 

1 

64.3 

111 

H 

64.4 

112 

H 

64.0 

93 

2i 

M.O 

95 

2i 

63.9 

102 

192  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"This  was  my  last  year  at  Rothamsted,"  said  I,  "and  I  feci  a 
peculiar  interest  in  loukini;  (jver  the  results  after  such  a  lapse  of 
time.  When  tliis  crop  was  growin;;,  my  father,  a  i^oud  practical 
farmer,  but  with  little  faith  in  chemical  manures,  |)aid  me  a  visit. 
We  went  to  the  experimental  wheat-field.  Tiie  first  two  plots,  0 
and  1,  had  been  dressed,  the  one  with  suiH-rpliosphalc,  llie  otiier 
with  pota.sh,  soda,  and  maijuesia.  My  father  did  not  seem  much 
impressed  with  tliis  kind  of  cliemical  manuring.  Steppini:  to  the 
D»'Xt  plot,  wlicre  14  tons  of  ham-yard  manure  had  been  used,  be 
rrmarkod,  "  tliis  is  good,  what  have  you  here  ?" 

"  Never  mind,"  said  I,  "  we  have  better  crops  farther  on." 

The  next  plot,  No.  3,  was  the  one  continuously  unmanured.  "  I 
can  beat  this  myself,"  said  he,  and  passed  on  to  the  next.  "  This 
is  better,"  said  he,  "  what  have  you  here?" 

"Superphosphate  and  sulp!iatc  of  ammonia." 

"  Well,  it  is  a  good  crop,  and  the  straw  is  bright  and  atilT." — It 
turned  out  30  bushels  per  acre,  03  lbs.  to  the  bushel. 

The  next  six  plots  ba  1  receivCil  very  heavy  dressings  of  ammo- 
nia-salts, with  suix'rphosphate,  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia.  Ho 
examined  tliein  with  the  greatest  interest.  "  What  have  you  hereV" 
he  asked,  while  lie  was  examining  H*/,  which  aft  rwards  turned  out 
37^  bushels  per  acre. — "  Potash,  soda,  epsom-salts,  superphosphate, 
and  ammonia — but  it  is  the  ammoni.i  that  does  the  good." 

He  passed  to  the  next  plot,  and  was  very  enthusiastic  over  it. 
"  What  have  you  here?" — "Rape-cake  and  ammonia,"  said  I.  — 
"It  is  a  grand  crop,"  said  he,  and  after  examining  it  with  great 
interest,  he  pas.sed  to  the  next,  (k/. — "What  have  you  here?" — 
"  Ammonia,"  .said  I ;  and  at  Gb  he  asked  the  same  qnestion,  and  I  rc- 
I)lied  "ammonia."  At  7'^  the  same  question  and  t!;c  same  answer. 
Standing  lictween  76  and  8'/,  he  was  of  course  struck  with  the 
difference  in  the  crop;  S<i  was  left  this  year  without  any  manure, 
and  thouijh  it  had  received  a  liberal  supply  of  miner.d  manures 
the  year  before,  and  minerals  and  amnmnia-s.ilts,  and  rape-cake, 
the  year  previous,  it  only  j)roduced  tliis  year,  3J  bushels  more  than 
the  plot  continuously  unmanured.  The  contrast  between  the 
wheat  on  this  plot  and  the  next  one.  might  well  interest  a  prac- 
tical farmer.  There  was  over  15  bushels  per  acre  more  wheat  on 
the  one  plot  than  on  the  otiicr,  and  1,581  ]hn.  more  straw. 

Passing  to  the  next  plot,  he  exclaimed  "  this  is  better,  but  not  so 
good  as  some  that  we  have  passed." — "  It  lias  had  a  heavj'  dressing 
of  rape-cake,"  said  I,  "equal  to  about  100  lbs.  of  ammonia  per 
acri',  and  the  next  jilot  was  manured  tliis  year  in  the  same  way. 
The  only  difference  being  that  one  had  superphosphate  and  potasli, 


EXnCKIMKN'TS    ON     WHEAT.  193 

soda,  ami  ma^ncsiii,  tlie  year  hcforc,  while  the  otlicr  liad  siipir- 
phosphate  alone."  It  turntil  out,  as  you  see  from  tlic  t;il)le.  Unit 
the  potash,  etc.,  only  iruve  half  a  hu.-hel  more  wheat  per  acre  the 
year  it  was  used,  anil  this  y»ar,  with  2,OllO  lbs.  of  rape-rake  on  eaeh 
plot,  there  is  ouly  a  bushel  per  acre  in  favor  of  the  potash,  soda, 
antl  nwiixnesia. 

The  nc.\t  plot,  9/*,  was  al.so  unmanured  and  was  passed  by  my 
father  witliout  eomment.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  on  cominji  to  the  two 
iie.xt  plots,  10 i  and  lOA,  "this  is  bitter,  what  have  you  here  ?" — 
*' yet  fling  b'lt  atiimdiiia,^'  siid  I,  "and  I  wish  you  would  tell  me 
which  is  the  bi-st  of  the  two?  Last  year  10'!'  had  a  heavy  dressing 
of  minerals  and  superphosphate  with  ammonia,  and  10 «  the  same 
quantity  of  ammonia  alone,  witliout  superphosphate  or  other 
mineral  manures.  And  tiiis  year  both  phjt.s  have  had  a  dressin;^  of 
400  lbs.  each  of  ammonia-salts.  Now,  which  is  the  best — the  j)lot 
that  had  superphosphate  and  min  rals  last  year,  or  the  one  with- 
out?"— "  Well,"  said  he,  "  1  can't  sec  any  diU'erence.  Both  arc 
good  crops." 

You  will  see  from  the  tabic,  that  the  jjot  which  had  the  super- 
phosphate, pota-sh,  etc.,  the  year  before,  gives  a  peck  Ush  wheat  this 
year  than  t!ie  other  plot  which  had  none.  Practically,  the  yield  is 
the  .same.  There  is  an  increase  of  i:5  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre — 
and  this  increase  /."*  ckiirly  due  U>  the  ammonid-iuUs  alone. 

The  next  plot  was  also  a  splendid  crop. 

"  What  have  you  here  ?  " 

"Superphosphate  and  ammonia." 

This  plot  (llrf),  turned  out  35  bushels  per  acre.  The  next  plot, 
with  phosphates  and  ammonia,  was  nearly  as  good.  The  next  plot, 
with  p<>ta.sh.  phosphates,  and  ammonia,  e(|ually  g'  od,  but  no  better 
than  ll'i.  There  was  little  or  no  benefit  from  the  potash,  except 
a  little  more  strint.  The  next  plot  was  good  and  I  did  not  wait  ff>r 
the  question,  but  simply  said,  "  ammonia,"  end  the  next  "  ammo- 
nia," and  the  next  "ammonia." — Standing  still  and  looking  at  tlie 
wheat,  my  father  asked,  "Joe,  where  can  I  get  this  ammonia?" 
He  had  previou?ly  been  a  little  skeptical  as  to  the  value  of  chem- 
istry, and  had  not  a  high  opinion  of  "  book  farmers,"  but  that 
wheat-crop  compelled  him  to  admit  "  that  perhaps,  after  all,  there 
might  be  some  good  in  it."  At  any  rate,  he  wanted  to  know  where 
he  could  get  ammonia.  And,  now,  as  then,  every  good  farmer  a.sks 
the  same  question:  "  vVhere  can  I  get  ammonia?"  Before  we 
attempt  to  answer  the  question,  let  us  look  at  the  next  year's  ex- 
periments.— The  following  is  the  results  of  the  experiments  the 
aeventh  year,  1849-50. 
9 


194 


TALKS    ON    MANUKES. 
EXPEBIMENTS    AT   ROTHAMSTBD  ON  THE  GbOWTH  OF 


TABLE    Vn.— MANURES     AND     PRODUCE  ;     7TH     SEASON,     1849-50.         AjTEB     THE 

2  TO  3  FEET  DEEP.      MANURES  AND  8EBD 


Manures  per  Acke. 

3uperpfiosphate  qf  Lime\ 

S 

i 

"S 

1 

1 

1 

?5 

1 

■^ 

"5 

^ 

"2  = 

1 

1 

^1 

i 

f^ 

1 

^•2 

^1 

1 

1 

•2 

c 

1 

<t 

•§•2 

1 

1 

^ 

1 

Tons. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

600 

450 

, , 

1 

COO 

400 

200 

.. 

.. 

2 

14 

. , 

.. 

., 

.. 

3 

Unmanurcd.i     .. 

.. 

•• 

4 

., 

.. 

.. 

200 

200 

SOO 

.. 

.. 

6a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

250 

250 

56 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

250 

250 

6a 

300 

200 

IfO 

200 

150 

200 

200 

6b 

CO 

2^0 

100 

200 

150 

£00 

200 

la 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

500 

lb 

.. 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

500 

8a 

200 

200 

86 

" 

,, 

200 

200 

9a 

200 

200 

95 

200 

200 

10a 

200 

200 

106 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

11a 

200 

150 

200 

200 

•• 

116 

200 

150 

200 

200 

.. 

12a 

.•}('i6 

2O0 

150 

200 

200 

126 

300 

200 

150 

200 

200 

i.;a 

300 

:: 

200 

l.'iO 

200 

200 

136 

;; 

300 

200 

i:^ 

20O 

200 

14a 

;joo 

200 

150 

200 

200 

146 

300 

-. 

200 

150 

200 

200 

15a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

,. 

156 

.. 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

500 

16a 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

__ 

166 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

17a 

300 

200 

lOT 

21X1 

150 

200 

200 

176 

300 

200 

100 

200 

i.-o 

200 

200 

ISa 

300 

200 

100 

200 

1  1.50 

200 

200 

186 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

19 

200 

200 

300 

500 

20 

Unmannred. 

.. 

1  j     1 

.. 

2U 
22? 

Mixtt 

irc  of  f 

hercB 

dae  of  most  of 

the  other  man 

oree. 

EXl'ERIMKNTS    ON    WHEAT, 
Whbat,  Year  after  Year,  on  the  same  Land. 


195 


HARVEST  OP   1849  THE   FIELD  WAS  TILE-DRAINED  IN  EVERT  ALTERNATE  PURROW, 
(R£D  CLUSTER),   BOWN  tN  AUTUMN,    1849. 


Produce  per 

Acre, 

ETC. 

Increase  ^  Acri 
BY  Manure. 

1 

Dreixfd  Corn. 

g 

^ 

C^ 

^ 

s 

S 

. 

0 

1 

g 

§ 

i 

^ 

^ 

i 

1 

si 

CM 

lbs. 

•5 

3 

1^^ 

r 

1 

1 

§ 

1 
1 

Bu8h 

.    Fk8. 

lbs.     Iba. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

'•   lbs.  1  lbs. 

ITs" 

0 

1 
s 

19 

U 

60.8     42 

1220 

20:37 

32.57 

1    218 

318 

5:56 

3.5 

59  9 

28 

i-     ' 

6i;9     98 

1M61 

3-245 

5i06 

859 

1526 

23S5 

5^4 

573 

8 

15 

3i 

60.6     44 

1002 

1719 

2721 

.. 

•  . 

4.5 

58.2 

4 

27 

3 

61.2     87 

1783 

a312 

50!*7 

783 

1593 

2376 

5.1 

53.9 

5a 

2!) 

^ 

60.4    171 

1974 

4.504 

6478 

972 

27ft5     3757 

9.5 

43.8 

Sd 

.30 

.3 

K0.4    160 

2)18 

4:579  1 

taar 

1016 

2660      3676 

8.6 

46.1 

6a 

.30 

("i 

SI.l    IHI 

1960 

3127  1 

.5887 

9.58 

2-2)8  ,  3166 

6.3 

49.9 

6b 

29 

^ 

f>1.3    148 

19-<0 

.39.59 

5939 

978 

2240      3218 

K.O 

50.0 

la 

32 

1 

81. 0    167 

2134 

+K5 

6619 

1132 

27.  i6      3^98 

8.4 

47.9 

lb 

32 

Oi 

B1.2i  150 

1 

2112 

4280 

m:*i 

1110 

2561      3671 

7.6 

49.4 

Sa 

23 

3 

51.1'  101 

18.56 

.3407 

.5263 

851 

16ft8     2542 

5.5 

54.5 

86 

30 

1 

51.0    103 

1948 

.3591 

.55:39 

!»46 

1872 

2818 

5.6 

54.2 

9a     , 

30 

H 

iO.4    118 

1951 

:5550 

.5501 

919 

ia31 

2780 

6  3 

55  0 

9b 

27 

n 

10.8     80 

1762  , 

31f.5 

4927 

760 

1446 

2206 

4.7 

55.7 

10a 

26 

3t     ( 

50.2    100 

1721 

3'W9 

4810 

719 

1.370 

2089 

6.1 

55.7 

10b 

17 

31      ( 

il.l      76 

1171 

1949 

3120 

169 

2:50      :599 

6.8 

iO.l 

Ua 

30 

■3*     ( 

51.0    121 

2001   ■ 

3S06 

5807 

909 

2087     3086 

6.4  ' 

52.6 

lib 

29 

n   ( 

51.1    145 

1940  ' 

3741   1 

5(W1 

9:58 

20-22     29t)0 

8.0 

51.9 

12a     ! 

29 

3*      » 

il..5     94 

19:i5 

.3921 

.5R56 

9.33 

2-202 

31.^5 

5.1 

19.4 

lib      1 

30 

3J 

■  14    11.5 

2013 

::l9i)5 

.59  IK 

1011 

2186 

3197 

5.9    . 

51.5 

13a     1 

31 

3|      ( 

jO.2    10.-) 

2t1-2T 

4()2-. 

60.53 

10-2.5 

2:3'>7 

3:5:52 

5.4    . 

)0.3 

1.36      i 

.30 

H     t 

il.O    in 

1964 

40ns 

.5972 

962 

2289 

.32.51 

fi.O    ^ 

19.0 

14a     ' 

31 

H     < 

jl.l    102 

202:5 

40.52 

6075 

1021 

2:53:5 

a354 

5.3    ' 

19.9 

146      i 

31 

H     < 

il.5     6.5 

1995 

4015 

6010 

993 

2-296 

3289 

3.2    ' 

19.7 

15a 

26 

Oi     « 

'A.5     90 

1693 

3.321 

5014 

691 

ir>02 

2-293 

5.7    51.0 

156 

30 

"i    f 

il.O,     59 

19(2 

3:t2») 

5868 

910 

2-207 

3147    3.0    49.5 

1 

16a     1 

a3 

1 

2i     ( 

50.3    108 

2134 

.51  a3 

7-237 

11.32     a3R4 

4516    5.3    41.8 

166 

33 

3       < 

50.4    122 

21.59  ' 

4615 

6774 

11.57      2896 

4053    6.0    46.8 

17a 

31 

1        f 

il.2      73 

19S5  1 

4126 

6111 

983      2407 

.3:590   3.8    48  1 

176 

29 

2*      ' 

)1.5    1.39 

19'il  1 

40:34 

.5995 

!t.59      2:315 

3-2:4    7.7    48.6 

18a 

29 

3i     ( 

il.2    110 

1934  1 

.3927 

.5161 

932      2-208  1 

.3140    6.1    49.3 

186 

23 

2i     ( 

iO.9    ia3 

1H45 

aS44 

5689 

84:3 

21-25 

29«J8    5.7   48.0 

1 

19 

29 

0       ( 

50.8     88 

ia50 

3527 

5.377 

848 

1808 

26.56 

4.9    52.4 

ao 

14 

0       . 

59.1:     40 

86S 

16.39 

2507 

-134 

—80 

-214 

4.5   53.0 

211 

i 

^, 

1 

1 

■•   1     "I 

1 

1 

1 

196  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

The  summpr  of  1850  was  unusually  cool  and  unfavorable  for 
wheat.  It  will  be  seen  that  on  all  tUe  plots  the  Ticld  of  grain  is 
considerably  lower  than  last  year,  with  a  greater  growth  of  straw. 
You  will  notice  that  106,  which  last  year  gave,  with  ammo- 
nia-salts alone,  -i^i  bushels,  this  year,  with  supcrphi)Si)li'itc,  potash, 
Boda,  anJ  sulphate  of  magnesia,  gives  less  than  18  busliels,  while 
the  adjoining  plot,  dressed  with  ammonia,  gives  nearly  27  bushels. 
In  other  words,  the  ammonia  alone  gives  !>  bushels  per  acre  more 
than  this  large  dressing  of  superphosphate,  potash,  etc. 

On  the  three  plots,  8a,  Sb  and  9a,  a  dressing  of  ammonia-salts 

alone  gives  in  each  case,  a  larger  yield,  both  of  grain  and  straw,  than 

the  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure  on  plot  2.     And  recollect  that 

this  plot  has  now  received  98  tons  of   manure  in   seven  years. 

"  That,"  saitl  the  Doctor,  "is  certainly  a  ver3-  remarkable  fuel." 

"  It  is  so,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"But  whiit  of  it  ?"  asked  the  Sciuire,  "  even  the  Professor,  here, 
does  not  advise  the  use  of  alunlunia-^alts  for  wheat." 

"  Tlial  is  so,"  said  1,  "but  pcrlnps  I  am  mistaken.  Such  facts 
as  those  just  given,  though  I  have  been  acquainted  witli  them  for 
many  years,  sometimes  incline  me  to  doubt  the  soundness  of  my 
conclusions.     Still,  on  the  whole,  I  think  I  am  riglit." 

"  We  all  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  you  have  great  respect 
for  your  own  opinions." 

"  Never  mind  all  that."  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  tell  us  just  what 
you  think  on  this  subject." 

•'  In  brief,"  said  I,  "  my  opinion  is  this.  TVc  need  ammonia  for 
■wheat.  But  tlioudi  ammonia-iJalts  and  nitrate  of  soda  can  often  be 
used  with  decided  profit,  yet  I  ftel  sure  that  we  can  get  anmio- 
nia  or  nitrogen  at  a  less  cost  per  lb.  by  buying  bran,  malt  roots, 
cotton-seed  cake,  and  other  foods,  and  using  them  for  the  double 
purpose  of  feeding  stock  and  makini:  manure." 

"  I  admit  that  such  is  the  case.  "  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  here  is  a 
plot  of  land  that  has  now  had  14  tons  of  manure  every  year  for 
seven  years,  and  yet  there  is  a  plot  along  side,  dressed  with  am- 
monia-salts furnishing  less  than  half  the  ammonia  contained  in  the 
14  tons  of  manure,  that  produces  a  better  yield  of  wheat." 

"Tliat,"  said  I,  "is  simply  because  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure 
is  not  in  an  available  condition.  And  the  practical  question  is, 
how  to  make  the  nitrogen  in  our  manure  more  inimodiately  avail- 
able. It  is  one  of  the  most  important  fpirstions  which  agricultural 
science  is  called  upon  to  answer.     Until  we  get  more  light,  I  fecJ 


KXPEIilMKXTS    OX    WIIKAT.  197 

Burc  in  sayiiii:  tlint  orir  i>f  tlic  best  motliods  is,  t<>  feed  our  animals 
on  ri'liiT  and  niori-  oasily  tliircstr-d  food." 

Tlic  following  tabic  gives  Ibe  results  of  tbe  eighth  seasoa  of 
1850--51. 


11)8  TALKS    ON    MANUKES. 

Experiments  at  Rothamsted  on  thb  Gbowth  of 

TABLE     VIII.— MANURES     AND     PBODCCB  ;     8TH     SEASON.      1850-51. 


Manubeb 

PER  Acre. 

£ 

•a 

ij"j>fr/)Aotiphate  of 

^ 

, 

a 

"3 
o 

1 
1 

1 

i 

1 

<»1 

s 

a 
'-0 

Lime. 

S 

a 

^ 

5* 

1? 
1* 

1 

1 
1 

1'  )IH. 

Iha. 

Ibs^ 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

0 

630 

450 

.. 

1 

600 

400 

200 

.. 

i 

i4 

.. 

8 

TTuma 

lurcd. 

•• 

4 

.. 

200 

200 

400 

•  • 

.. 

6a 

:J00 

200 

100 

200 

l.-iO 

.300 

300 

.. 

6b 

31X1 

200 

100 

2)0 

150 

.3110 

3)0 

6a 

310 

210 

100 

200 

150 

2»0 

2,)0 

db 

800  200 

100 

21  Nl 

150 

200 

200 

la 

"  • 

300  20O 

100 

2)0 

150 

200 

•iOO    1000 

lb 

•• 

300  1 

300 

100 

2)0 

150 

•• 

200 

200  1000 

8a 

5000 

,. 

.. 

,, 

66 

300 

200 

100 

2)6 

150 

100 

100 

9a 

.. 

200 

200 

9^ 

,^ 

200 

200 

10(1 

200 

200 

106 

200 

200 

11a 

200 

1.10 

200 

300 

116 

2)fl 

l.-iO 

200 

200 

12a 

356 

100 

2(X)  1 

l.V) 

•  . 

200 

200 

126 

200 

100 

200 

150 

.. 

200 

200 

18a 

'.'. 

300 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

.. 

136 

300 

200 

150 

.. 

200 

200 

14a 

200 

100 

200 

150 

200 

200 

146 

200 

100 

200   150 

•  • 

200 

200 

"' 

15a 

■* 

200 

100 

100 

200 

200 

400 

• 

156 

200 

100 

100 

200 

200 

300 

600 

161 

836'  200 

100 

100 

200   150 

800 

.300 

166 

*■ 

200 

100 

100 

200   LV) 

.300 

300 

17o 

200 

100 

100 

2(10   LW 

200 

200 

176 

200 

100 

100 

200   150 

200 

200 

18a 

.. 

.  ■ 

200 

200 

186 

.. 

•• 

•  • 

200 

200 

19 

200 

" 

300 

300 

.. 

600 

30) 

( 

.. 

21  I 

Unma 

nntcd.  < 

.. 

.. 

«l 

} 

■■  1 

'  ' 

1  Top-dressed  in  March,  1851. 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


199 


WuKAT,  Yeak  aftek  Yeak,  on  the  same  Land. 

KANUM8     AND     8KBU     (U"«     CLU8TEU),      BOWN      AUTUMN.     1850. 


5a 

6ft 
6a 
66 
^a 
76 

8a 

86 

9^1 

96 
10<i 
106 

11a 
116 
12a 
126 
13rt 
136 
14a 
146 

15a 

1S6 

16a 
166 
17a 
176 
18a 
186 


Pboducb  per  Acre,  etc. 


DrttMd  Com. 


I 


Bu9h.  P'kB.  IbB.  IbB. 

18       3*     61.9  125 

1i      .11.7,  124 

2*     ft<.6  \m 

•i\      61.1  114 


18 
29 
15 


0^     r>2  6    159 


36 
37 
33 
31 
36 
37 

26 
27 

31 
29 
28 
38 

33 

31 
32 
32 
30 
30 
31 
31 

27 
:J0 

36 

31 
30 
30 
31 


0 

3» 

U 

Oi 

3* 


(a. 3  iw 

6:1  3  213 

63.3  IM 

ti2.3  1«) 

6:5.0  201 

,63.0  178 


OJ  •'.2.8  HI 

2i  <;2.ti  137 

\\  ti2.J  182 

Oi  r.2.0  170 

3*  ltJl.9  179 

2i  J62.5  149 


2t 

21 

3 

2i 

2J 

31 

Oi 


02  3  ISl 

62.5  Irtl 

6.3.1  Itv) 

62.5  16»i 

H2.6  lt*t) 

62.3  160 

62.9  !•« 

(12.8  165 


0*      62.7    138 
•,>i     62.9    148 


63.5  161 

tVi.4  176 

63.3  131 
tW.l  152 
m.Q  1:^9 

62.4  143 

62.4  144 

60.8  89 

3i      61.9  127 


•3 

IbB. 

1251 
2(M9 
10,S3 

1019 

2473 
2«.ll 
2271 
2119 
2524 
2532 

17S5 
1M«W 
2142 
1970 
l!»fi6 
liW7 


lbs. 
1S«)2 
1815 
:jtilM 
1027 


•a  5 


lbs. 
3158 
.•5«i9tl 
5143 
2710 


Increase  ^  Acre 
BT  Manitre. 


^ 


tc 


2»19     4868 


4131 
4291 
:J624 
35»)7 
45H7 
4102 

27(10 

:J252 
2912 

i  :*>7o 
3(H,S 


221  f. 

.%3S6  ' 

21(W 

:«02 

22:« 

3(100 

'  2203 

:i581 

2102 

:i.>44 

208:i 

■.WQ 

2120 

3605  1 

2121 

35:37 

1R:W 

.3(41 

2077 

:M;« 

1  2409 

4234 

!  2501 

4:i32 

2149 

:V..rT 

2070 

3406 

20«i 

3:?.tO 

6(101 
(1905 
5S'.l5 
562(1 
7111 
OKM 

4.V)4 
4(.93 

I  .5:?.t4 

4012 

I  5ii:}(J 

I  4985 

mn 

fr«>5 

5SM 
57»<4 
.'■)61(1 
552:} 


IbB. 
213 
1(18 
96(i 


lbs.  I  IbB. 
2:»  I  448 
218  ;  :i86 

1467  a4;« 


8:16  1323  ,  2158 


rjoo  ' 

152S  ; 
1188  I 
1036 
1441  : 
1449 

702 
7«0 
10.50 

HS7 
RS.3 

a>4 

1133 
10«0 
1151 
1120 
1019 
1(¥)0 


2504  3RW 

2667  4105 

l'.»'.t7  3185 

1S80  2916 

2960  4101 

26'.5  412-1 

1142  1844 

120:i  198:1 

1(125  2«1H1 

1315  2202 

144;}  2:«6 

1421  2275 


.5725  '  10:}7 
5658  1038 


1750 
1675 
1973 
lO-M 
1017 
1813 
1978 
1910 


2892 
27.55 
3124 
3074 

2S13 
3015 
2948 


4880 
5509 


756 
904 


1414  2170 
1805  2799 


2149 
2070 
20«} 
2090 

:V..rT 
3406 
3:?.tO 
3586 

57K1 
5485 
.5473 
567(i 

i  2031 
956 

i348 
1609 

M79 
25»>5 

i  1232 

1763 

2995 

67.^3  i4i(; 

«•««  1418 

10(i6 

096 

10' Ml 

1007 

948 
-127 

149 


2607 
2705 
1070 
17T9 
17f>3 
1950 


1721  2669 
-18  -145 

1.36   285 


4023 
412:} 
:10:«> 
2775 
27(13 
2906 


10.7  69.6 
11.0(17.8 

8.8  66.2 

11.8  66.6 

9.065.1 

8.6'.50.9 
8.9|(i(t.8 
7.2(12.6 
9.8(10.4 
8.7  55.0 
[  7.6,58.8 

'  8.6  M. 6 
:  7.905.8 
'  0.3  65.9 

9.567.0 
10.064.0 

8.3  63.5 

8.965.4 
9.1165.5 
8.062.0 
8.261.5 
9.4I59.3 
8.360.5 
8.6158.8 
8.4.59.9 

8.1160.5 
7.0  60.5 

I 
6.9  59.0 
7.6.57.7 
6.5  50.7 
7.961.0 
7.2(14.1 
7.3  58.3 

7.7  60.7 
10.2  .59.4 

11.5  69.9 


200  TALKS    OK   MANURES. 

The  plot  continuously  unmauurcd,  gives  about  16  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre. 

The  i^lot  with  barn-yard  manure,  nearly  30  bushels  per  acre. 

4UU  lbs.  of  ammonia-salts  a  on*,  on  plot  9</,  31^  bushels;  on  96, 
29  Injshcls ;  on  10</  and  106,  nearly  29  bushels  cacli.  This  is  remark- 
r\ble  uniformity. 

400  lbs.  ammnnia-salts  and  a  large  quantity  of  mineral  manures 
in  addition,  on  twelve  different  plots,  average  not  quite  32  bushels 
per  acre. 

"The  superpliosphate  and  minerals,"  said  the  Deacon,  "do  not 
Bcera  to  do  much  good,  that  i.s  a  fact." 

You  will  notice  that  3;]0  lbs.  of  common  salt  was  sown  on  plot 
16a.  It  does  not  ecem  to  have  done  the  sligiitest  good.  Where  the 
salt  was  used,  there  is  2  lbs.  less  grain  and  98  lbs.  less  straw  than 
on  the  adjoining  plot  16A,  where  no  salt  was  used,  but  otlierwise 
manured  alike.  It  wouM  seem,  however,  thai  the  quality  of  the 
grain  was  slightly  improved  by  the  salt.  The  salt  was  sown  in 
March  a.s  a  top-dressing. 

"  It  would  have  been  l)etter,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  lO  have  sown  it 
in  autumn  witli  the  other  manures." 

"  The  Deacon  is  right,"  said  I,  "  but  it  so  happens  that  the  next 
fear  and  the  year  after,  the  salt  tens  applied  at  the  same  time  as 
the  otlier  manures.  It  gave  an  incn-ase  of  94  Uks.  of  grain  and  61 
lbs.  of  straw  in  IBol,  but  the  following  year  the  same  quantity  of 
salt  used  on  the  s;uiie  plot  I'id  more  harm  than  good." 

Before  we  leave  the  results  of  this  year,  it  should  be  observed 
that  on  8/,  5,000  lbs.  of  cut  straw  and  chaff  were  used  per  acre.  I 
do  not  recollect  seein'.j  anything  in  regard  to  it.  And  yet  the 
result  was  very  remarkable — so  mucli  so  indeed,  that  it  Is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  the  experiment  was  not  repoated. 

This  5,000  11)S.  of  straw  and  chaff  gave  an  increase  of  more  th.in 
10  bushels  per  acre  over  the  continuously  unmanured  plot. 

"Good,"  said  the  Deacon,"!  have  always  told  you  that  you 
under-estimated  the  value  of  straw,  especially  in  regard  to  its 
merhiiniciil  action." 

I  did  not  reply  to  this  remark  of  the  good  Deacon.  I  have  never 
doubted  the  good  effects  of  anything  that  li:rhtens  up  a  clay  soil 
and  renders  it  wnrnvT  and  more  porous.  I  suppo.se  the  great  benefit 
derived  from  this  applirati<in  of  straw  must  be  attributecl  to  its 
ameliorating  action  on  the  soil.  The  5.000  lbs.  of  straw  and  ehalT 
produced  a  crop  within  nearly  3  bushels  per  acre  of  the  jtlot  ma- 
nured every  )'ear  with  14  tons  of  barn-yard  manure. 

"I  am  surprised,"  said  the  Dot  tor,  "  that  salt  did  no  good.     I 


EXrKUlMKNTS    (»N    WHEAT.  -01 

have  seen  many  instaiucs  in  wl.ich  it  luis  l.a>l  n  woiul.Tful  clR-ct 

on  wbout." 

"Yfs,"sui>l  I,"  ami  our  i-xpcrinicf.l  frinui,  .lolin  Johnston,  is 
very  tleruleillv  of  llu'  opinH)ii  tlial  its  uso  is  hi^llly  prolitablc.  He 
sows  a  barn  rof  salt  per  am-  broadcast  on  tlir  lanl  at  tlic  tinu'  he 
gows  his  wheat,  and  1  have  myself  seen  it  pruduee  a  decided  im- 
provement in  the  crop." 

We  have  now  given  the  results  of  the  first  eight  years  of  the  ex- 
periments. From  this  time  forward,  the  ainu  manuni,  were  used 
year  after  year  on  the  same  plot. 

The  result-*  are  riven  in  the  iwcompanyinc:  tables  for  the  follow- 
ing twelve  years-harvests  for  ls:,2-r):{-.'i4-r).->-r>G-rj7-58-.'>S)-C0- 
81-(;2  and  180:5.  Such  another  set  of  experiments  arc  not  to  be 
found  in  tlie  world,  and  tiicy  deserve  and  will  receive  the  careful 
.study  of  every  inlelligent  American  farmer 

"I  am  with  you  there,"  said  the  Deacon.  "You  seem  to  think 
that  I  do  not  appreciate  the  labors  of  scientific  men.  I  do.  Such 
experiment.s  as  thes-  wr  are  c'caminin-.r  command  the  respect  of 
every  intelligent  farmer.  I  may  not  fully  understand  them,  but  I 
can  see  clearly  enough  that  they  are  uf  groat  value." 


202 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


ElXPERIMENTB     AT    ROTHAMSTED    ON     THE    GllOWTn     OF    WHEAT,     YHAB 
AFTER   YEAK,    on    THE   SAMB   LaND. 

Table  IX.— Manukes  pt.T  Acre  per  Aiimiin  (wiih  the  eiceplioii!'  explained  in 
tlie  Notes  on  p.  2U3),  for  12  Years  iu  succession— namely,  for  the  9th.  lOlh, 
11th,  12th,  13lli,  14th,  1.5th,  lOth,  ITt..,  18th.  lOtli.  and  20th  Seasons:  tliut  is. 
for  the  crops  of  Harvests  l»52-53-&l-55-50-57-5S-5iMi0-«l-ti2  and  18«>3.» 


0 
1 
2 

3 

4 

5a 
56 
6a 
6b 
la 
lb 
8<i 
Bb 
9a' 
96' 
10a 
lOA 
11a 
116 
12a 
126 
13a 
136 
Ua 
146 
15a 
156 
lOa 
166 
1  17a 
1176 
\\8a 
(l86 
19 
20 
21 
22 


Manures  per 

Acre 

})er  . 

Innum  for 

12  Yearo,  1851-2  to  1862-3  inclusivt. 

except  in  (he 

cotes  exjduined  in  the  Noief  on  p.  203 

i 

« 

1 

Superphonphate   qf 
Lime. 

mtrate  of  Soda. 
Rape  Cake. 

1^ 

5 

§ 

(2 

^•2 

1 

1 

Sulphuric 

Acid 
{Sp.  gr.  1.7). 

^5 
IbP.' 

f 

lbs. 

Tons. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs.  lbs. 

600 

450 

GOO 

400 

200 

14 

Unma 

Hired 

Unina 

nil  red 

300 
300 

200 
200 

ioo 

100 

200 
200 

1.V1 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

1.50 

100 

100 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

l.-iO 

1(K) 

100 

300 

200 

100 

200 

l.'-.O 

200 

200 

m) 

2(K1 

100 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

1.50 

300 

.3(K) 

.300 

200 

100 

200 

1.50 

m) 

300 

300 

200 

.%0 
.550 

100 

200 

200 
200 
200 
200 

150 

i.50 
150 
150 
1.50 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

200 
200 
200 
200 
200 
200 

550   .. 
550  .. 

.300 

200 

1.50 

200 

200 

300 

420 
420 

200 
200 
200 

1.50 
1.50 
150 

200 
200 
200 

200 
200 
200 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

400 

300 

200 

100 

200 

200 

300 

600 

336< 

300 

200 

100 

200 

150 

400 

m 

300 

20U 

100 

200 

150 

400 
200 
200 

400 
200 
200 

300 

200 

ioo 

200 

150 

300 

200 

100 

200 
200 

150 

200 

300 

500 

Unma 

mired 

300 

200 

100 

ioo 

•  • 

300  '  200   100 

ioo 

*  For  the  partica1ar8  of  the  produce  of  each  separate  acaaoD,  eee  Tabloa 
X.'XXI.  inclusive. 


KXi'KUlMKNTS    UN    WUKAT.  203 


NOTES  TO  TABLE  IX.  (p.  202.) 

'  For  the  W/t  and  succeeding  seasons-  the  sulphate  of  potass 
was  reduced  from  GOO  to  400  lbs.  per  acre  per  annum  on  Plot  1, 
and  from  300  to  200  lbs.  on  all  the  other  Plots  where  it  was  used ; 
the  sulphate  of  sod:i  from  400  to  200  lbs.  on  Plot  1,  to  100  lbs.  on 
all  the  Plots  on  wliieh  200  lbs.  had  previously  been  applied,  and 
from  550  to  336*  lbs.  (two-thirds  the  amount)  on  Plots  12a  and 
126;  and  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  from  420  to  280  lbs.  (two-thirds 
the  amount)  on  Plots  14(/  and  146. 

'  Plot  Oa — the  suli)liates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magnesia,  and  the 
superphosphate  of  lime,  were  applied  in  the  12th  and  succeeding 
seasons,  but  not  in  the  9th,  10th,  and  11th  ;  and  the  amount  of 
nitrate  of  soda  was  for  the  9tli  season  only  475  lbs.  per  acre,  and 
for  the  10th  and  11th  seasons  only  275  lbs. 

'  "Plot  96— in  the  9th  season  only  475  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  were 
applied. 

*  Common  salt — not  applied  after  the  10th  season. 

•  Plots  17a  and  176,  and  18a  and  186-the  manures  on  these 
plots  alternate :  that  is.  Plots  17  were  manured  with  ammonia-salts 
in  the  9th  season;  with  the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  superphosphate  of  lime,  in  the  10th  ;  ammonia-salts  again 
in  the  11th;  the  sulphates  of  potass,  soda,  and  magnesia,  and 
superphosphate  of  lime,  again  in  the  12th,  and  so  on.  Plots  18, 
on  the  otlier  hand,  had  the  sulphates  of  potnss,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  supcrphospliato  of  lime,  in  the  9th  season  ;  ammonia-salts 
in  the  10th,  and  so  on,  alternately. 


204 


TALKS    ON    MANURKS. 


Experiments   at  Rotiiamsted  on  the  GuowTn  of  Wueat,  Tear 
AFTER  Tear,  ox  tue  same  Land. 


Table  X.—PKonrcE  of  tlicUTiiSEAPON, 
1831-2.  Sekd(U><1  Climier)  snwii  No- 
vi'inber  7,  18ol ;  Crop  cut  August  24, 
1852. 


PuoDucE  PER  Acre, 

ETC. 

(For  the  Manures   scu   pp.  202 

and  203.) 

"8 

^ 

Dresned  Com. 

§ 

*3k 

S^ 

B  "^-^ 

t 

3^ 

i;i 

^iS 

1 

l-g       -3 

"S-^c 

>>;=3      5 

5-^ 

§» 

•-     1    f«i 

^ 

Bu-I> 

I'k-i. 

ll>s. 

11.0. 

11.!.. 

0 

15 

OH. 

K).8 

919 

2625 

1 

13 

1 

m  it 

825 

2.3->2 

3 

27 

2>i 

.58  2 

1716 

5173 

3 

13 

3'4 

.56.6 

HIV) 

2157 

4 

13 

n* 

57.3 

870 

2411 

5a 

IG 

3 

57.5 

Ift38 

2f»ll 

56 

17 

O'i 

57.3 

1(1*  ;5 

:wn 

6a 

20 

3 

57.6 

12.S,S 

■.bOVJ 

6b 

20 

3<tf 

57.5 

l.JiHl 

:v.m 

7a 

26 

2'4 

56.0 

1615 

rttiiTi 

76 

26 

■i\ 

55.8 

1613 

5115 

8a 

27 

3'i 

55.9 

M'.CI 

.V.tC) 

86 

27 

OJ^ 

55.9 

1651 

M2:j  , 

9a 

25 

2 

r>5.fi 

1.501 

.5.3a5  , 

96 

24 

m 

55.3 

1509 

4S*J 

10a 

21 

3!^ 

55  9 

l:«0 

4107 

106 

22 

O'i 

57  3 

1313 

4i(a 

11a 

it 

O'i 

.55.6 

1172 

•l.->.->3 

116 

22 

1'4 

55  9 

13S7 

42'.)9 

l-2a 

24 

1^ 

57.4 

l.-)l« 

1760 

126 

24 

W 

57  3 

1  i:t2 

J  72 1 

i:ja 

24 

0 

57.5 

1180 

■i:&i 

i:V> 

m 

3'i 

57  1 

1176 

17Cs5 

14a 

24 

1^ 

.Iti  9 

1.V17 

50.54 

146 

25 

0.4 

56.7 

1.>J0 

5137 

15a 

23 

^H 

57.4 

1 151 

mm 

156 

25 

0)^ 

56.8 

1.520 

4<.M1 

16a 

28 

3V 

.'■.5.0 

1794 

f>171 

1«6 

2« 

0 

51.5 

1700 

6.316 

17a 

25 

2 

56,5 

1.577 

5.311 

176 

at 

l"^ 

51;  9 

1520 

4!tS6 

18a 

13 

3 

.57.0 

869 

2556 

186 

14 

3?i 

56.7 

i>21 

2(»5 

19 

24 

3X 

56.1 

1582 

4979 

20 

14 

O'i 

56.6 

875 

21.52 

31 

19 

I'i 

56.9 

1177 

:Ba5 

22 

19 

2^ 

55.9 

1176 

;tt55 

Table  XT.— Produck  of  the  IOtu  Sea- 
son, 185.3.  Seed  (Kcd  Kdetock)  t»owii 
M.ircli  16;  C'raj)  cut  Sc|il«iiilK!r  10, 
and  carti'il  Si'iiicrabiT  20.  185.3. 

Pkodixe  pei;  Acre.  etc. 

(Fur  tliu  Mannrct^    see  pp.   202 

and  203). 


51.1 

i:j.'.7 

51   1 

I.'M6 

51.1 

1125 

47  7 

091 

46.1 

W9 

48  9 

612 

49.8 

8!K) 

.50.1 

1015 

51.1 

1073 

.52.0 

12S3 

51   1 

1.375 

.52.1 

1.311 

51 . 1 

vv.tr, 

.51.2 

r.vt-i 

52.6 

1347 

47.8 
50.4 
49.4 


5091 
5;il2 
5352 

3090 
2903 

2691 
:»78 
.35:» 
3780 
4<M8 
.5079 
.5015 
5.308 
4793 
5106 


1143  ;  4504 
i:i51   5107 


1496  ,  6400 
1.537   6556 


520  2516 

.5.39  2.551 

nil  4496 

1256  5052 

1160  4373 

425  2084 

7.5.3  29.34 

692  2453 


ftXPERIMENTS    ON    WHEAT. 


205 


Experiments  at   lioTii.vMSTED  on   the   Gkowth   of  Wheat,  Yeab 
AJKTEK  Year,  on  the  same  Land. 

Tabi.k  XIII— I'nonrrit  of  ihe  12th 
t^EAi-oN.  1S54-^.  SkkihKiiI  Uostock) 
cDwii  NiiviMiilnT  it.  IS.")*;  <'iii|)  cut 
Au;,'ii!'t  26,  and  cuilcil  Si-uleiiibcr  2, 
18J5. 


Table  XII  -  Piiomi  k  of  the  llrii 
Skaso.n.  IH-l;}-!.  Skkl>iKi'(I  K.-ciiiL-ki 
Howii  N>ivt-iiilifr  ri.  IS-Vl;  C'ni|)  cut 
Au;;U3t  21,  and  carted  August  31,  It&i. 


PlUtOUCK  PKR  ACRK,  BTC. 

(For  the  Munnres   see   pp.  202 


Pboduck 

PEB 

^CBB, 

etc. 

(For 

the  M 

iiiiiret 

see  pp.  202 

1 1 

aiid2U 

i). 

DrtMied  Corn. 

Il^ 

2>i 

»  . 

s  ^'^ 

^^"^ 

S 

£  5  ^ 

-^•^ 

^  i:  3 

O 

S".  '■** 

■3 

2'f^ 

"5 

ft.^ 

o- 

^ 

K 

Biii'li 

.  Pks. 

li^." 

;i)!.. 

lbs. 

0 

1? 

0 

tK)  7 

llf.Ni 

2822 

1 

18 

2 

(K)  5 

1179 

:J069 

2 

34 

i>i 

(12  0 

mi 

6082 

3 

17 

0 

59.2 

1072 

28.59 

4 

18 

2>i 

59.5 

n<j8 

3000 

5a 

18 

2 

59  9 

11. ->7 

2976 

56 

18 

0'/, 

60  1 

114;J 

294;j 

(kj 

27 

3 

00.3 

n.-wj 

45!I0 

i]d 

28 

1 

WI.9 

IHII 

4818 

7a 

:» 

2?i 

59.4 

•am 

59!»5 

76 

:« 

1^4 

5<l  5 

2i:}M 

62<l6 

8a 

at 

3 

58.8 

li»0!t 

5747 

86 

3;j 

0?i 

58.7 

215:j 

6495 

9a 

29 

2X 

58.3 

19.32 

5878 

96 

25 

IX 

57.3 

KiOo 

4817 

10a 

19 

3'i 

57.1 

12a5 

3797 

106 

28 

0}i 

58.9 

I.SUj 

5073 

llrt 

18 

3 

55  3 

1210 

3<J94 

116 

24 

2V 

5<i  3 

l.j;30 

47*3 

12/j 

30 

0>4 

59.5 

1940 

M78 

126 

m 

2 

60.2 

2172 

6182 

l.V» 

29 

0 

59.9 

1934 

.5427 

i:if> 

32 

2 

riO.4 

2110 

.5980 

14a 

2<.t 

3 

60.0 

19.>4 

.5.5:J1 

146 

3;J 

^% 

fiO.O 

2158 

5161 

1.5a 

31 

z^i 

60. 0 

20:30 

58.55 

1.56 

:« 

3 

0().6 

21'.l.i 

6J15 

16a 

33 

1^ 

58.2 

2100 

6634 

l»i6 

32 

2 

58. 2 

2115 

7106 

17a 

18 

3?i 

60.8 

1227 

.3203 

176 

17 

OX 

60  3 

inn 

2914 

18a 

»2 

3:^^ 

609 

2127 

6144 

186 

33 

1?^ 

60.8 

2170 

6:«5 

19 

30 

ox 

58  7 

1907 

5818 

20 

17 

2X 

61.1 

11.55 

2986 

21 

24 

IJi 

60.8 

15:« 

3952 

22 

21 

2X 

60.1 

1553 

4010 

206 


TALKS   ON   MANURES. 


Experiments  at   Rotdamsted  on  tue  Growth  of  Wqeat,  Yeab 
AFTER  Year,  on  the  same  Land. 

Tabi.k  XV'.— Pkodvce  of  the  14th 
Season.  lH.VV-7.  Seed  (Keil  Kottock) 
sown  Novfiiibcr  0.  ItCyj ;  Crop  cut 
Aii;^!«t  i:),  and  carivd  August  22, 
1857. 


Table  XIV.— Produce  of  tlie  1.3th 
Season,  IRS.")-*).  Sked(Ki"i1  Kostockt 
B<.wn  Novfinber  Vi.  ISiVi ;  Crop  cut 
Au>{U8t  'iti,  and  carted  September  3, 
1850. 


Prodcce  per  Acre,  etc. 

(For  the  Manures  see  pp.  303 

and  203.) 

Drttsed  Corn 


<§. 


0 
1 
3 
3 
4 

6(1 
56 
(ki 
66 
7a 
76 
8a 
86 

9a 
96 

10a 
1C6 
11a 
116 
13a 
136 
13a 
1.36 
14a 
146 

l.Trt 
VJ) 

16a 
1G6 

17n 
176 
18a 
186 

19 

30 
31 
S3 


Ba^h.  Pks. 

18  1^ 

17  0\ 
36  1>« 
14  3 
16  IX 

18  3>4 
20  11* 
27  1'* 
38  0% 


1 
2«^ 


40  0>i 

87  8>4 

32  \% 

3U  0 


0^ 

3 '4 

'4 


32  3M 

32  \}i 

30  3'i 

35  OV 

34  0^ 

30  OV 

.«  0 


0!tf 
3 


31  3?^ 

30  1^ 

17  3,^ 

18  0 

S3  1 

17  OM 

22  l)tf 

31  \X 


56.8 
5(i  3 
58.6 
M  3 
56.5 

56.5 
5«i.2 
5H.2 
58  5 
58  0 
57.6 

m.% 

57.1 

57.3 
56.3 

55  6 
57.2 

57  3 
57.5 
58.7 

58  8 

58  6 
58.9 
58.6 

59  0 

59.1 
59  4 

68.5 
58.7 

59.0 
59.1 
57  8 
57.7 

58.9 

57.7 
58.0 
57.8 


Ibf.  I  1l)f>. 
1179  I  8118 


11()2 
2277 


K!)2  245<) 
1020  2757 


1107 
1^17 
1717 
17.V> 
2:n2 
2iU 
2507 
!M00 

2019 
1679 

l.VV) 
1727 
2UII 
l<.lli> 
21(hJ 
2<)7it 
2<):iO 
2(N)8 
21'.I5 
2102 

1923 
3(M5 

8426 
2450 


3179 

4707 
4848 
0872 
WA'i 
70«l» 
7489 

5«M 

4831 

4323 
48!C) 
.V.I8 

5'.M".» 
58(M 
."iTV.* 
50.V.) 
0.^r7 
6279 

M44 
57«r7 

7955 
7917 


2059  5621 

1075  29«a 

1.398  a(27 

1351  1  3t^i9 


66 
7fl 
76 
8a 
86 

9a 
96 

10a 
l(i6 
lla 
116 
12« 
126 
l.Ja 
l.«. 
14a 
146 

LVi 
156 

16a 
166 


1983     TM\  17a 

lim  :  5-JOO  I      176 

1140     31.V2  I      18a 

1131     3()0'.»  186 


Produce  per  Acre,  etc. 

(For  the  Manures   see  pp.  803 

and  20.3.) 


Drtdsed  Com. 


BuhIi.  Pks. 


0 

18 

21^ 

1 

17 

2'i 

8 

41 

OV 

3 

19 

3?i 

4 

33 

IX 

6a 

22 

3V 

56 

24 

'i\ 

48 
60 

26 
25 
41 
40 


1>4 

!»» 
IX 
3 


48  3^ 

43  8 

36  05^ 

29  OX 

M  2 

.39  0 

:»  OJi 

4:J  3>4 

43  2 

42  3 

43  2 
Aii  3 

42  8^ 

43  \\ 

44  \% 


34 
0 

2\' 

014 


41  2X 

19  2«i 

8i  0 

23  OX 


Ills.  I 

6i».0 

59  0 

60.4 

58.3 

58.8 

59.0 
58.8 
69  !t 

59  8 

60  5 
60  3 
60.8 
60.6 

60.1 
58.0 

58.0 
58.6 
58.5 
58  0 
60  4 
60  4 
60.0 
60  5 
60  5 
60.3 

60.4 
60.0 


60.6 
60.6 


1 

|4« 

1 

ll>s. 

lbs. 

1181 

2726 

1118 

-HiJM 

•i:»- 

.VilO 

V£M\ 

2813 

1380 

2958 

140!t 

.3036 

I.M2 

.•«47 

2-Jll 

rt08 

21  ".•.•! 

4<.t.'-0 

27S'2 

04(i2 

atHtt 

0793 

3(»58 

7355 

3129 

7579 

2707 

66.34 

2220 

5203 

1810 

4308 

218.-^ 

.■^MM 

24.« 

.^^75 

2.«17 

rn\-i 

2747 

(►•AM 

2729 

6.312 

2714 

0421 

27.W 

iiV6 

2781 

04:» 

2«;99 

6351 

2081      6368 
27ti5     6513 


60  5     3131 
60.5     31»t 


7814 
7897 


59  1  1042  3700 

58.8  Vm  3.^23 

59.7  2.'i«»  6009 

59.8  2519  5884 

59.5  2600  6793 


1213  3777 
l.'vtft  &^^3 
1491      3298 


EXPEKIMKNTS    ON    WHEAT. 


207 


EXFERIMENTS    AT    ROTOAHSTED    ON    TDE     GROWTH    OF    WUEAT,    YEAR 

AFTER  Tear,  on  tee  same  Land. 


Tablb  Xyi.— PiioDft  k  of  the  ISth 
8ea»os.  IWT-H.  SkkI)  (Hod  Koi^to,  k) 
Bowii  Novciiilter  :i  :iii(l  11,1857;  I'mp 
cii'.  Aiii;u»t  9,  and  curtuU  AiigUbl  20, 


0 

1 
s 

4 

6a 

66 
6a 
66 
7a 
76 
8a 
86 

9a 
86 

lOa 
106 
11a 
116 
12a 
136 
13a 
136 
14a 
146 


16a 
166 


19 


PnoDUCB  PER  Acre,  etc. 

(For  the  Manures   see  pp.  303 

and  'iOH.) 


Dresaed  Corn. 


Buoh.  Pk!> 

90  3 

16  lU 

38  3>« 

18  0 

19  0^ 

18  2J£ 


1 

2    4 


2!>  OVi 

38  21* 

:»  2i» 

41  3\ 

41  3«« 

.r:  2v 

2.1  2 

23  3H 

27  3 

30  3>< 

33  OV 

37  S'i 

37  03^ 

.37  0^ 

37  0\ 

37  3!i 

38  I  Si 


15a    '     35      IH 
156         37     2 


41      3 
43      0;i 


17a    I    .33 
176    I    3.3 
18a 
186 


3-4 
22      3*^ 


20      2^ 
33      1>4 


Ihx.   I 
61. 2  ' 
W)  7 
62  6 
60.4 
61.1 

I 
61.5 
»;i  4 
62  1 
62  1 

61  it 

62  3 
61.8 

61.7  I 

60.8 

588  , 

59  6 

61  4 

60  5 
60  4 

62  1 
62.1 
62.1 
62.7 
62.1 
62.0  I 

I 
62.6 

62.8  ! 

62.1 
62.1 

62.5 
62  5 
62.3 
62.4 

62.5 


S      ."S-^^Q 


90 

17 

0 

60.3 

21 

24 

Vi 

61  5 

23 

22 

0 

61.5 

vm 
lavj 

2.-.  12 
lUl 
1206 


32:m 

2»iH5 
U-)4» 
2S11 
2879 


Tabi.r  XVII.— PnoinrcE  of  tlie  16th 
Skakon.  1K>H-".1.  Skei)  (Htd  Roslock) 
PKWn  Novcnil)ir  4,  IKV* ;  (."ri>p  cut 
An^ut^t  4,  und  cm  ted  .\u;;ili<t  20,  1859. 


1187  2719 

1227  2M70 

ISlrt  4.«»5 

IS.-,!)  vm   I 

21.-.0  6115 

2.VK)  «;22 


2«iH0 

7:J47 

2675 

T<M2 

23f« 

6701 

1470 

41.58  1 

14.39 

3.509 

1775 

4390 

1977 

4774 

2<»'.>9 

5117 

2l:n 

6100 

2.VS7 

<i<KJO 

2.i><J 

6077 

2:i'.t7 

r,074 

2^113 

6150 

24;W 

6146 

22ft5 

5S00 

iViC, 

6l:}4 

2702 

7499 

2717 

75:30 

31.-)0 

."ms 

21S1 

.54.55   ; 

1472 

.3480 

i.3;i8 

a305 

2177 

5362 

1089 

2819 

1.574 

.3947 

1412 

3592  ' 

Produce  per  Ache,  etc. 

(For  Ibc  Miiniircs  bcu  pp.  203 

and20a) 


Drauied  Corn. 


ia39  .32.56 
1.5.38  4723 
1460  '  4440 


208 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


Experiments  at  Rotcamsted  on  the  Gkowth  of  Wheat,  Yeab 
AFTER  Tear,  on  the  same  land. 

Table  XVIII.— Prodixe  of  the  17th 
Season.  185!MiO.  Seed  (Rod  Kustoci>) 
Bowii  Novi-mbtT  17,  ISoK ;  Crop  cm 
September  17  aud  19,  and  carted  Octo- 
ber 5,  1860. 


Pkoducb 

nn  ACUE,  ETC. 

(For  the  Manures 

see  pp.   202 

aud  203.) 

1 

Dressed  Corn. 

S3I 

»-   . 

1 

^"5 

C 

i  S  S 

M 

tl 

"3 

■^.s  H 

ll-^ 

|-^ 

Bush 

Pks. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

11)9. 

0 

14 

Wi 

5:i.5 

m> 

2271 

1 

12 

15!£ 

52.8 

717 

2097 

2 

32 

1'4 

55.5 

1864 

5304 

3 

12 

3>4 

52  6 

7:M 

2197 

4 

14 

2 

53.0 

832 

2;352 

5a 

15 

2'^ 

54  0 

903 

2-483 

5b 

16 

OX 

m.\ 

9:J5     2505 

6a 

21 

0,V 

5.J  7 

1210     3:J!I3 

66 

22 

3-4 

54.2 

l:«6     3719 

7a 

27 

3Sf 

W  3 

1(il2     4615 

76 

27 

2-4 

54.3 

1.597     47:M 

8a 

30 

3 

52.8 

17.59     5<W9 

86 

31 

2?i 

52.3 

1787     5000 

9a 

32 

25^ 

51.5 

m^S     66.^5 

96 

I'J 

2.'* 

48.5 

11.55     4285 

10a 

l.'S 

OX 

40.5 

905     3118 

106 

18 

2v; 

51.0 

KMiO     3120 

lla 

22 

IX 

51  0 

1270     3773 

116 

22 

1'/. 

51.2 

1307     4000 

12a 

28 

OX 

5.3.4 

](i48     4878 

126 

26 

2'4 

M  5 

1577 

4(X;4 

13a 

26 

O'i 

51.3 

1.575 

45(;s 

136 

27 

OX 

5.3.8 

KiCO 

4(^7 

14a 

27 

IX 

5:^.7 

1.583 

4(B6 

146 

27 

0'4 

5:j.2 

1563 

4666 

15a 

25 

IX 

53  8 

1510 

4.387 

156 

28 

0 

54.0 

1614 

4704 

16a 

32 

3 

52  0 

1856 

5973 

1G6 

32 

3 

51.7 

1889 

6096 

17a 

24 

0-4' 

54.1 

1409 

4109 

176 

26 

l'/» 

.54.3 

15-18 

4518 

18a 

15 

1'4 

.54.5 

929 

26-19 

186 

16 

1'4 

54.6 

9<i3 

2706 

19 

24 

o;4 

53.0 

14.35 

4178 

20 

12 

ov 

51.5 

722 

21.55 

21 

15 

2 

52  5 

893 

2fW9 

22 

13 

su- 

53.8 

817 

2114 

Table 

XIX 

.— Pkodice 

of   the 

18th 

Season.  18<>0-1.    fc 

EEl)  ( 

Red  Rostock) 

sown 

November 

5.   1860;    Crop   cut 

,     Auj,'ust    20 

,  aud 

caned   Au<:u8t  27. 

'     1861. 

PllODUCE 

PEU  Ague,  etc. 

(For 

the  Manures 

see  pp.  202 

•22 

aud  203.) 

Dressed  Corn. 

^ 

5" 

».___. 

a 

a 

fl 

2* 

t£ 

K    |K 

Bueh 

Pk8. 

"ibT 

lbs.       lbs. 

0 

15 

1'/, 

57.6 

1001     2709 

1 

12 

35i 

57.6 

m»  ,  2215 

2 

34 

3'4 

60.5 

2202     5;»3 

3 

11 

1'4 

57.4 

736 

1990 

4 

11 

3X 

58.0 

86;3 

2193 

5a 

15 

1,'i 

59.1 

1047 

2540 

56 

15 

IX 

59.0 

1082 

2692 

6a 

27 

1'4 

59.5 

17.55 

4328 

66 

27 

3'4 

59.4 

1818 

4501 

7a 

35 

^H 

50.0 

2263  ]  5764 

76 

34 

IJi 

59.0 

218:i     5738 

8a 

36 

0 

58,3 

2290     6203 

86 

31 

OH. 

58.5 

2190     5985 

9a 

33 

3 

56.8 

2162 

6607 

96 

13 

3 

53.9 

909 

3079 

10a 

12 

3X 

55.0 

8.54 

2784 

106 

15 

3'i 

55.5 

1033 

3196 

lla 

2:^ 

Vi 

55.3 

14.55 

4032 

116 

2.5 

i)\ 

55.8 

1578  1  4223 

l2a 

32 

I'i 

58.1 

2009     5201 

126 

3:i 

1M 

.58.7 

2144  1  5481 

13a 

.33 

1'4 

.50.9 

2168     .5486 

l:i6 

35 

0 

60.0 

2.304  \  5794 

14a 

3:i 

O'C 

59.1 

2125     5502 

146 

33 

3=^ 

59.3 

2173     5476 

15a 

34 

IM 

60  0 

2188 

5506 

156 

34 

3 

60  2 

2249 

5727 

16a 

36 

15i 

58.0 

23.38 

6761 

166 

37 

2 

58.6 

2432 

6775 

17a 

19 

1 

59.3 

1229 

2982 

176 

18 

0?;£ 

59.1 

1166  1  2829 

18a 

32 

IX 

59.6 

20.50 

5144 

186 

3;j 

14 

.59.5 

2122 

5446 

19 

32 

2 

58.8 

2107     5345 

20 

13 

OX 

57  9 

872     2.340 

21 

16 

1'4 

58.2 

1109     2749 

22 

19 

2^1 

58.5 

1306 

3263 

EXPKKIMKNTS    ON    \VHEAT. 


200 


Experiments  at    Rothamsted  on  the  Guowtii  of  Wueat,  Year 
AFTER  Year,  on  the  same  Land. 


Table     XX— Pkodice    of    the    1!»th 
Season,  1^61-",'.     Seed  (Uoii  Uosiock) 
sown    OtiiilKT    25.    18»il ;     C'lop    cut 
Auijust  29,  and  carted  Si'ptetubcT  12,  i 
1863.  I 


Taiu.e  XXI.— PuciDrcB  of  the  20th 
Sea.-*()N.  1S(;2-:J.  SSekdiHimI  I^(^^()c■k) 
pown  Noveinhfr  17,  1.S(I2;  Crop  cut 
Am:iisl  10,  and  carted  Ati;;usl  18, 
18«i:{. 


Pboducb 

PER  Acre,  etc. 

Produce  per 

Acre,  etc. 

(For 

the    M 

•niircs  pee   pp.  302 

(For  the  Mnnnre 

•«  see  pp.  202 

ttud  203.J 

^ 

aud  203.) 

1 

Drauied  Corn. 

IS 

Dressed  Coi'n. 

1 

1^ 

5* 

^    ,l?s 

a; 

•5" 

iS.^ 

5 

^•1 

•3 

Bush 

Pks. 

11)9. 

lbs.   I    11)?.  i 

Bush 

.    PU8.   1   11)S. 

11)S. 

1I)S. 

0 

19 

a-i 

.5S  5 

1238  1   32.-*  1 

0 

22 

0",     '  62.6 

1429 

3,254 

1 

16 

25!i 

5S.0 

](n>4      2772 

1 

20 

3         1  62.8 

1*J4 

3.079 

3 

38 

IH. 

01  0 

2117      6642 

3 

44 

0         '  6.3.1 

288<} 

7.105 

8 

16 

0 

57.  S 

sm      270<» 

3 

17 

1         :  62.7 

1127 

2,727 

4 

16 

2.V 

58.5 

1049  1   2711  [ 

4 

20 

1 

62.3 

1303 

2,957 

5a 

17 

3*£ 

59.0 

1119      2959 

5a 

19 

3'i 

63.0 

I2a3 

2.970 

66 

17 

2,Si 

.59.0 

1 101      2<.)(il 

56 

19 

3          6;j.O 

1290 

3.(h;4 

6a 

27 

2 

5!)  5 

1715      4.554 

6a 

39 

IX     i  62.3 

2522 

0.2:i0 

6b 

2S 

Si 

.59  S 

1797      4S{)7 

66 

39 

3         1  62.3 

2534 

0.2.50 

la 

So 

2'* 

59.3 

2200      0106 

7a 

53 

I'i       62.6 

3477 

9.3:i0 

lb 

36 

<»?i 

59.5 

2205      6178 

76 

54 

0 

02.5 

3507 

9..3S5 

8a 

39 

3 

59.3 

2477 

7200 

8<i 

56 

3« 

02.3 

3008 

10.:38:3 

8ft 

30 

o;i 

69.0 

2452 

7087 

86 

54 

3'4 

62.3 

3559 

10.048 

9a 

43 

1% 

59.5 

2688     8738 

9a 

55 

2M 

62.1 

.3576 

9.as8 

96 

25 

3X 

56.3 

1641      4i>97 

96 

41 

l?i 

02.5 

3723 

6,920 

10a 

23 

014 

56.5 

14.57      4050 

10a 

39 

OX 

02.6 

2587 

6,068 

10» 

24 

3'i 

57.5 

1000      4443 

106 

43 

214       62.8 

2858 

6.914 

11a 

26 

2?i 

5S.0 

17U6      4.548 

11a 

45 

0 

62.5 

2979 

7,212 

\\b 

27 

0'4 

58.0 

1734      4007 

116 

4<; 

2 

62.1 

3000 

7,519 

Via 

34 

1'4 

58.0 

2096      5745 

120 

54 

Vi 

62.1 

3533 

8,976 

126 

33 

o^i 

53.0 

2025      5<S4 

126 

53 

1 

02.2 

3454 

8.819 

18a 

31 

3M 

5S.0 

1953      5542 

13a 

53 

1 

62.6 

.34.53 

9,192 

136 

32 

i% 

58.0 

2019  ,   5(i'.il 

i:i6 

53 

1'4 

62.5 

.3439 

9,2.38 

14a 

30 

i% 

58.0 

ms6     528:3 

14a 

54 

I'i     :  62.5 

3027 

8.<)86 

146 

32 

0* 

68.1 

2008     55.58 

146 

5:3 

I'i     j62.5 

3450 

8,749 

15a 

30 

1^ 

58.3 

1872  '  5268 

15a 

48 

1>4       62.5 

3114 

8.276 

156 

33 

i% 

58.3 

2029  ,  5787 

156 

48 

0          62.9 

3127 

8.240 

16a 

36 

1'4 

58.0 

2225     67.52 

10a 

56 

2'.^       62.4 

3710 

10.717 

166 

36 

OX 

57.5 

2233     6730 

j 

106 

55 

014     ,  63.3 

3607 

10,3:32 

17a 

27 

S)^ 

58.1 

1747     4827 

17a 

21 

0V4     '  62.8 

1370 

3.288 

1-6 

27 

214 

58.1 

1(585      47<;2 

176 

21 

IX       62.8 

1:389 

:3,292 

18a 

18 

1)^ 

58.5 

1103      3161 

ISa 

46 

IX       62.6 

.30()() 

7,889 

186 

18 

2J£ 

58  5 

1195      3:»5 

ls6 

46 

0?i       62.8 

3009 

7,737 

19 

23 

IX 

57.3 

1479 

4132 

19 

46 

2J£       62.9 

3054 

7,577 

20 

13 

IX 

57.3 

818  '   2.^^5 

20 

17 

25£     1  62.5 

11.37 

2.009 

31 

20 

IX 

58.1  i   1273      »465 

21 

27 

2'/»     '  62  5 

1796 

4.279 

33 

20 

O.'i 

58.0 

12.50 

'   3430 

22 

29 

3 

i62.4 

1907 

4,599 

210  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

The  ninth  season  (185 1-2),  was  unusually  cold  in  June  and  wet 
in  August.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  wheat,  both  in  quantity  and 
quality,  is  the  poorest  siuce  the  comuienrement  of  the  experi- 
ments. The  unnianured  plot  gave  less  than  14  bushels  of  drcs.srd 
grain  per  acre ;  the  plot  with  barn-yard  manure,  less  than  28 
bushels,  and  the  best  yield  in  the  whole  series  was  not  quite  29 
bushels  per  acre,  and  only  wei;4:hed  55  lbs.  per  bushel.  On  the  same 
plot,  the  year  before,  with  precisely  the  same  manure,  the  yield 
was  nearly  37  bushels  p -r  aero,  and  the  weight  per  bushel,  G3J  lbs. 
So  much  for  a  favorable  and  an  unfavorable  season. 

The  tenth  season  (1852-3),  was  still  more  unfavoral)le.  The 
autumn  of  1853  was  so  wtt  that  it  was  impossible  to  work  the 
land  and  sow  the  wheat  until  liic  IGtli  of  March  1853. 

You  will  8fc  t'.iat  tho  produce  on  the  unmanurcd  plot  was  less 
than  6  bushels  per  acre.  With  barn  yard  manure,  19  bushels,  and 
with  a  heavy  dressing  of  ammonia-salts  ami  minerals,  not  quite  26 
bushels  per  acre.  With  a  heavy  dressing  of  superphosphate,  not 
quite  9i  busiiels  per  acre,  and  with  a  full  dressing  of  mixed 
mineral  manures  and  siipfrphosphatc,  10  bushels  per  acre. 

The  wcigiit  per  bushel  on  the  unmanurcd  plot  was  45  lbs.;  with 
mixed  mineral  manures,  48^  lbs.  ;  with  ammonia  salts  alone,  48J 
lbs.;  with  barn-yard  manure,  51  lbs.;  and  with  ammonia-salts  and 
mixed  mineral  manures,  52i  lbs. 

Farmers  are  greatly  dependent  on  the  season,  but  the  good 
farmer,  who  keeps  up  the  fertility  of  his  land  stands  a  better  chance 
of  making  money  (or  ot  losing  less),  than  the  farmer  who  depends 
on  the  unaided  products  of  the  soil.  The  one  gets  6  bushels  per 
acre,  and  1,413  lbs.  of  straw  of  very  inferior  quality;  the 
other  gets  20  to  2(3  bushels  per  acre,  and  5,000  lbs.  of  straw.  And 
you  must  recollect  that  in  an  unfavorable  season  we  are  pretty 
certain  to  get  high  prices. 

Tiie  eUvent'i  season  (1853-4,)  gives  us  much  more  attractive- 
looking  figures  !  We  have  over  21  busiiels  per  acre  on  the  plot 
which  has  grown  eleven  crops  of  wheat  in  eleven  years  without 
any  manure. 

With  barn-yard  manure,  over  41  bushels  per  acre.  With  am- 
monia-salts alone  (17a),  45J  bushels.  With  ammonia  salts  and 
mixed  minerals,  (16i),  over  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  6,635  lbs.  of 
straw.     A  total  produce  of  nearly  Hk  tons  per  acre. 

The  twelfth  season  (1854-5),  gives  us  17  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre 
on  the  continuously  unnianured  plot.  Over  34^  bushels  on  the 
plot  manured  with  barnyard  manure.  And  I  think,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  commencement  of  the  experiments,  this  plot  pro- 


KXPKKIMKNTS    0.\    WIILAT.  211 

(luces  the  largest  yield  of  any  plot  in  the  lield.  And  well  it  niay, 
for  it  has  now  Lad,  in  twelve  years,  1G8  tons  of  barn-yard  manure 
per  acre  ! 

Several  of  the  plots  with  aramonia-salts  and  mixed  minerals, 
are  nearly  up  to  it  in  grain,  and  ahead  of  it  in  straw. 

The  ihirk^nth  season  (ISoo-fJ),  gives  llj  bushels  on  the  unnianur- 
ed  plot;  over  3(JJ  bushels  on  the  plot  manured  with  barn-3ard  ma- 
nure ;  and  over  40  Inishels  on  8 /.dressed  with  GOO  lbs.  ammonia- 
salts  and  mi.xed  mineral  manures.  It  will  be  notieed  that  800  lbs. 
ammonia-salts  does  not  give  quite  as  large  a  yield  this  year  as  GOO 
lbs.  I  suppose  40  bushels  per  aere  was  all  that  the seison  was  capa- 
ble of  produiing,  and  an  extra  quantity  of  ammonia  did  no  good. 
400  lbs.  of  aramonia-salts,  on  7(i,  produced  ;37i  bushels  per  acre, 
and  800  lbs.  on  IGA,  only  37}  biisljels.  That  extra  half  bushel 
of  wheat  was  produced  at  considerable  cost. 

The  fourteenth  season  (ls.")G-7),  gives  20  bushels  per  acre  on  the 
unmanured  plot,  and  41  bushels  on  the  plot  with  barn-yard 
manure.  Mixed  mineral  manures  alone  on  oa  gives  nearly  23 
bushels  per  acre.  Mixed  mineral  manures  and  200  lbs.  ammonia- 
salts,  on  0<i,  give  35^  bushels.  In  otlier  words  the  ammonia  gives 
us  over  12  extra  bushels  of  wheat,  and  1,140  lbs.  of  straw. 
Mineral  manures  and  400  lbs.  ammonia-salts,  on  7b,  give  46i 
bushels  per  acre.  Mineral  manures  and  600  lbs.  aramonia-salts,  on 
Sb,  give  nearly  49  bushels  per  acre.  Mineral  manures  and  800  lbs. 
of  ammonia-salts,  on  16ft,  give  50  bushels  per  acre,  and  4,703  lbs. 
of  straw. 

"This  exceedingly  heavy  manuring,"  said  the  Deacon,  "does 
not  pay.     For  instance, 

"200  lbs.  ammonia-salts  give  an  increase  of  12i  bushels  per  acre. 
400    "  "  "  "  2:;i 

6(X)     "  "  "  "  26  "  " 

800    "  "  "  "  27  "  " 

The  Deacon  is  right,  and  Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  call  especial 
aitention  to  this  point.  The  200  lbs.  of  ammonia-salts  contain 
about  50  lbs.  of  ammonia,  and  the  400  lbs.,  100  lbs.  of  ammonia. 
And  as  I  have  said,  100  lbs.  of  ammonia  per  acre  is  an  unu.sually 
heavy  dressing.  It  is  as  much  ammonia  as  is  contained  in  1,000 
lbs.  of  average  Peruvian  guano.     We  will  recur  to  this  subject. 

The  ffleenth  season  (1857-8,)  gives  a  yield  of  18  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre  on  the  continuously  unmanured  plot,  and  nearly  39 
bushels  on  the  plot  continuously  manured  with  14  tons  of  barn- 
yard manure.  Mixed  mineral  manures  on  5a  and  56,  give  a  mean 
yield  of  less  thau  19  bushels  per  acre. 


212  TALKS    Oy    MAN  L' RES. 

Mixed  mineral  manures  and  100  lbs.  ammonia-salts,  on  plots  21 
and  22,  give  23^-  busiiels  per  acre.     In  other  words : 

25  lbs.  ammonia  (100  lbs.  ammonia-salts),  gives  an  increase  of  4i  bush. 

50    "  "         (:iOO    "  "  "   ),      "      "        "        "    10    " 

100    "  "         (400    "  "  "    ),      "      "        "        "  20    '• 

l.jO    "  '         (60(J    "  "  "   ),      "      "        "        "   23    " 

200    "  "         (SOO    "  "  "   ),      •'      "        "         "  23    " 

"It  takes,"  said  the  Deacon,  "about  5  lbs.  of  ammonia  to  pro- 
duce a  bushel  of  wheat.  And  accordmij  to  this,  500  lbs.  of  Peru 
vian  guano,  guaranteed  to  contain  10  per  cent  of  ammonia,  would 
give  an  increase  of  10  bushels  of  wheat." 

"This  is  a  very  intcrestmg  matter,"  said  I,  "but  we  will  not 
discuss  it  at  present.  Let  us  continue  the  examination  of  the  sub- 
ject. 1  do  not  propose  to  make  many  remarks  on  the  tables.  You 
must  study  them  for  yourself.  I  have  spent  hours  and  days  and 
weeks  making  and  pondering  over  these  tables.  The  more  you 
study  them  the  more  interestmg  and  instructive  thry  become." 

The  sixteenth  season  (1858-9),  gives  us  a  little  over  ISj  bushels 
on  the  unmanurcd  plot.  On  the  plot  manured  with  14  tons  farm- 
yard manure,  36i  bushels;  and  this  is  Ihe  highest  yield  this  season 
in  the  wheat-field.  Mixed  mineral  manures  alone,  (mean  of  plot 
5a  and  5b),  give  20i  bushels. 

25  lbs.  amnioni:i  (100  lbs.  ammonia-salts),  and  mixed  minerals, 
give  25J  bushels,  or  an  increase  over  minerals  alone  of  4f  bushels. 

."iO  lbs.  ammonia,  an  increase  of     9i  bushels. 

100   "           "  "        "  "    14  " 

1.50    "            "  "        •'  "    14  *• 

200    "            "  "        "  "    14i  " 

The  season  was  an  unfavorable  one  for  excessive  manuring.  It 
•was  too  wet  and  the  crops  of  wheat  when  hiirhly  manured  were 
much  laid.  Tlie  quality  of  the  grain  was  inferior,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  light  weight  per  busliel. 

The  seventeenth  season  (1859-60,)  gives  less  than  13  bushels  per 
acre  on  the  unmanured  plot;  and  321  bushels  on  tiie  plot  ma- 
nured with  14  tons  farm-yard  manure.  This  season  (1860),  was  a 
luserable  year  for  wheat  in  England.  It  was  both  cold  and  wet. 
Mixed  mineral  manures,  on  plots  5a  and  56,  gave  nearly  16  bushels 
per  acre.  25  lbs.  ammonia,  in  addition  to  the  above,  gave  less 
than  15  bushels.     In  other  words  it  gave  no  tnnrnse  at  all. 

50  lbs.  ammonia,  gave  an  inrrrase  of     6    bushels. 
100    "  "  "       "       "         "    n* 

i:,9    "  "  »        "         "  "     lai         » 

200    "  "  "        "         "  "     lt)J         " 

It  was  a  poor  year  for  the  wheat-grower,  and  that,  whether  he 
manure  1  ox 'Cpsivcly,  liberally,  moderately,  or  not  at  all. 


BXPERIMENTS    ON    WUEAT.  21o 

"  I  do  not  quite  see  that,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  farm-yard  ma- 
nure gave  an  incrc'ise  of  nearly  20  bushels  per  acre.  And  the  quality 
of  the  grain  must  have  been  nmch  better,  as  it  weighed  '6i  lbs. 
per  bushel  more  than  the  plot  unmanureJ.  If  the  wheat  doubled 
in  price,  as  it  ought  to  do  in  sur-h  a  poor  year,  1  do  not  see  but  that 
the  good  farmer  who  had  in  previous  years  made  his  land  rich, 
would  come  out  ahead." 

"  Good  for  the  Deacon,"  said  I.  "  '  Is  Saul  also  among  the 
propliets  ?  '  "  If  the  Deacon  continues  to  stutly  these  experiments 
much  longer,  we  shall  iiave  'lim  advocating  chemical  manures  and 
high  farming ! 

The  eighteenth  season  (1860-1,)  gave  less  than  lU  bushels  per 
acre  on  the  unmanured  plot;  and  nearly  35  bushels  on  the  ma- 
nured plot. 

The  mixed   mineral  manures,  crave  ncnrly 15i  bushels. 

"  "  and    25  11)8.  ammonia  ..l^^i        " 

"  "  ••      .50    '•  "  27*        " 

"  "  "     100    "  *'  35  " 

"  "  "     l.-)0    "  "  35  " 

"  "  "    200    "  "  37  " 

The  nineteenth  season  (1861-2,)  gave  16  bushels  per  acre  on  the 
unmanured  plot,  and  over  38i  bushels  on  the  plot  manured  with 
farm-yard  manure. 

Mixed   mineral   manures,  pave  nearly 18    bushels  per  acra. 

"  "  "        and    25   lbs.    ammonia.. 20;        "  " 

'•       .50    "  "  2-i        "  " 

"  "  "  "     l(iO    "  "  36  "  •• 

••  "  "     1.50    "  "  39i        "  " 

"  "  "  "     200     "  "  36i        •'  " 

The  ticentieth  season  (1862-3),  gave  17J  bushels  on  the  unma- 
nured plot,  and  44  bushels  per  acre  on  the  manured  plot. 

M'xed    mineral    manures    alone    gave 191  bushels  per  acre. 

'  "  "       and    2.')  Ihs.    ammonia.. 3  I        "  " 


2.->  Ihs. 

ammonia. 

.3  1 

50      " 

" 

3f'i 

100      " 

(< 

5-i 

150      " 

ti 

.55* 

200      " 

(( 

50 

When  we  consider  that  this  is  the  twentieth  wheat-crop  in  suc- 
cession on  the  same  land,  these  figures  are  certainly  remarkable. 

"  They  are  so,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  what  to  me  is  the  most  sur- 
prising thing  about  the  whole  matter  is,  that  the  plot  which  has  had 
no  manure  of  any  kind  for  25  years,  and  has  grown  20  wheat-crops 
in  20  successive  years,  should  still  produce  a  crop  of  wheat  of  17J 
bushels  per  ncre.  Many  of  our  farmers  do  not  average  10  bushels 
per  acre.     Mr.  Lawes  must  either  have  very  good  land,  or  else  the 


214  TALKS    ON    MANUKES. 

climate  of  England  is  better  adapt"  d  for  wbcat-growing  than  West- 
eru  New  York." 

'*  1  do  not  think,"  said  I,  '•  that  Mr.  Lawcs'  land  is  any  better 
than  yours  or  mine;  and  I  do  not  tliink  the  climate  of  England  is 
any  more  favorable  for  growing  wheat  without  manure  than  our 
climate.     If  there  is  any  ditlerenie  it  is  in  our  favor." 

"  Why,  then,"  asked  the  Doctor,  "  do  we  not  grow  as  much 
wheat  per  acre  as  Mr.  Lawes  gets  from  his  continuously  unmanured 
plotV" 

This  is  a  question  not  diflicult  to  answer. 

Isl.  UV  grow  ton  mtuty  wecdit.  Mr.  Lawes  plowed  the  land  twice 
every  year;  and  the  crop  was  hoed  once  or  twice  in  the  .'■i>ring  to 
kill  the  weeds. 

2d.  We  do  not  half  work  our  heavy  land.  We  do  not  plow  it 
enough — do  not  cultivate,  harrow,  and  roll  enougli.  I  have  put 
wheat  in  on  my  own  fann,  and  have  seen  otlii  rs  do  tlie  same  thing, 
when  the  drill  on  the  day  spots  could  not  deposit  the  seed  an  inch 
deep.  Tlierc  is  "plant-food"  cuouL'h  in  these  'clay-spots"  to 
give  17  busliels  of  wheat  per  acre — or  perhaps  40  bu.shels — but  we 
sliall  not  get  ten  bushels.  The  wheat  will  not  come  up  until 
late  in  the  autumn — the  plants  will  be  weak  and  thin  on  tlie 
ground ;  and  if  they  escape  tlie  winter  tluy  will  not  get  a  fair  hold 
of  tlie  ground  until  April  or  May.  You  know  the  result.  The 
straw  is  full  of  s;ip,  and  is  almost  sure  to  rust;  the  grain  shrinks 
up,  and  we  harvest  the  crop,  not  because  it  is  worth  the  lalior,  but 
because  we  can:iot  cut  tlie  wheat  with  a  machine  on  the  better 
parts  of  the  field  without  cutting  these  poor  spots  aLso.  An  acre 
or  two  of  poor  spots  pull  down  the  average  yield  of  the  fiold 
l)eIow  Ihcaverau'p  of  .Mr.  Lawes' well-workeil  Itut  unmanured  land. 

3d.  Much  of  our  wheat  is  seriously  injured  by  stagnant  water  in 
thf  Koif,  and  sfrinding  water  on  the  surface.  I  think  we  may  safely 
say  tliat  one-tliird  the  wheat-crop  of  this  county  (Monroe  Co.,  N. 
Y.),  is  lf)st  for  want  of  l»ett'T  tilla£re  ami  Itetter  draining— and  yet 
we  think  we  have  as  good  wheat-land  and  arc  as  good  farmers  as 
can  be  found  in  this  country  or  any  other! 


Unless  we  drnin  land,  where  <lrainage  is  needed,  and  unless  we 
work  land  thorou  :hly  that  needs  workincr,  and  unless  we  kill  the 
wecils  or  check  their  excessive  growth,  it  is  poor  economy  to  sow 
expensive  manures  on  o»ir  wheat-crops. 

But  I  do  not  tliink  there  is  much  dansrer  of  our  falling  into  this 
error.  The  farmers  who  try  artificial  manures  are  the  men  who 
usually  take  the  greatest  pains  to  make  the  best  and  most  manur« 


LIME    AS    A    MANPRK.  216 

from  the  iiuitnuls  ki'pl  on  llic  farm.  Tlicy  know  wlnit  nianuns  cost 
and  what  iIk y  arc  wortli.  As  a  rule,  too,  such  men  arc  gooil  farra- 
irs,  aO'l  endeavor  to  work  tUeir  land  tboroughly  and  keep  it  clean. 
When  this  is  llie  case,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  we  can  often 
use  artitlcial  manures  to  grout  advantage. 

"  You  say,"  said  the  Deacon,  who  had  been  lookin£j  over  the 
tables  wliile  I  was  tulkiii;:,  "  that  mixed  iinneral  manures 
and  50  His.  of  ammonia  irive  39}  bushils  per  acre.  Now  these 
nii.xed  mineral  manures  contain  [lota.'^li.  .>^oda,  mapnrsia,  and  super- 
phosphate. And  I  see  where  sujierpliosphale  was  used  without  any 
potasli,  soda,  and  ma  rnesia,  but  with  the  same  amount  of  ammonia, 
the  yield  is  nearly  46  bushels  per  :icre.  Tiiis  docs  not  say  much  in 
favor  of  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  as  manures,  for  wheat.  Again, 
I  see,  on  plot  1(V>,  50  lbs.  of  ammonia,  afunf,  gives  ov(r43i  bushels 
per  acre.  On  plot  ll'^  50  lbs.  ammonia  mid  superpiiosphate,  give 
4fii  bushels.  Like  your  father,  I  am  inclined  to  ask,  '  Where  can  I 
get  tftii  ammonui  f ' " 


C  II  A  r  T  E  K      X  X  \   I  1  1 . 
LIME    AS     A     MANURE. 

These  careful,  systematic,  and  long-continued  experiments  of 
Lawc-  and  Gill>crt  seem  to  prove  that  if  you  have  a  piece  of 
lanil  well  prepared  for  wheat,  which  will  produce,  without  manure, 
say  15  bushels  per  acre,  there  is  no  way  of  making  that  land  pro- 
duce 30  buslu  Is  of  wheal  per  acre,  without  directly  or  indin  ctly 
furnishing  the  soil  with  a  liberal  supply  of  available  nitrogen  or 
ammonia. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  directly  or  indirectly?"  asked  the 
Deacon. 

"  What  I  had  in  my  mind,"  said  I,  "  was  the  fact  that  I  have 
seen  a  good  dressing  of  lime  double  the  yield  of  wheat.  In  such 
a  case  I  suppose  the  lime  decomposes  the  organic  matter  in  the 
soil,  or  in  some  otlier  way  sets  free  the  nitrogen  or  ammonia 
already  in  the  soil ;  or  the  lime  forms  compounds  in  the  soil  which 
attract  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
facts  brought  out  by  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments  warrant  us  in  con- 
cluding that  the  increased  growth  of  wheat  was  connected  in  some 
way  with  an  increased  supply  of  available  nitrogen  or  ammonia. 


21  fi  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

yiy  father  used  threat  (juanlilics  of  lime  as  manure.  He  drew 
it  a  distance  of  13  miles,  and  usually  applied  it  on  land  intended 
for  wheat,  spreadini];  it  l)road-cist,  after  the  land  had  received  it3 
last  plowin;;,  ami  harrowin;;  it  in,  a  few  days  or  weeks  before  sow- 
ing the  wheat.  He  rarely  applied  less  than  100  bushels  of  stouc- 
lime  to  the  acre — generally  150  bushels.  He  used  to  say  that  a 
small  do.se  of  lime  did  little  or  no  irood.  He  wanted  to  use  enough 
to  clianire  the  general  character  of  the  land — to  make  the  light  land 
firmer  and  the  heavy  laml  lighter. 

Wliilc  I  was  with  Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  at  Hi>(hanisted,  I 
went  home  on  a  visit.  My  f.ither  had  a  four-horse  team  drawing 
lime  every  day,  and  putting  it  in  lar^'C  heaps  io  the  field  to  slake, 
before  spreading  it  on  the  land  for  wheal. 

"  I  do  not  believe  it  pays  you  to  draw  so  much  lime,"  .^aid  I,  with 
tlie  coiifiden<e  whicli  a  young  man  who  has  learned  a  liltleof  agri- 
cultural chemistry,  is  ai)t  to  feel  in  his  newly  acquired  knowledge. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  said  my  fatln-r,  "  but  we  have  got  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  land,  or  the  crops  will  be  poor,  and  |)oor  crops  do  not 
pay  these  times.  What  would  you  u^e  instead  of  lime  ?  " — "Lime 
is  not  a  manure,  strictly  speaking."  .saiil  I;  "a  bushel  to  the  acre 
would  furnisli  all  the  lime  the  crops  require,  even  if  there  was  not 
an  al)undant  supjily  already  in  the  .soil.  If  you  mix  lime  with 
guano,  it  sets  free  the  ammonia ;  and  when  you  mix  lime  with  the 
soil  it  probably  decomposes  .some  compounds  containini;  ammonia 
or  the  elements  of  annnonia,  and  thus  furnishes  a  supply  of  ammo- 
nia for  the  plants.  I  think  it  would  be  cheaper  to  buy  ammonia 
in  the  shape  of  Peruvian  guan«)." 

After  dinner,  my  father  asked  me  to  take  a  walk  over  the  farm. 
We  came  to  a  field  of  barley.  Standing  at  one  end  of  the  field, 
about  the  middle,  he  asked  me  if  I  could  see  any  difTerence  in  the 
crop.  "Oh,  yes,"  I  replicil,  "the  barley  on  the  right-hand  is  far 
better  than  on  the  left  hand.  The  straw  is  stifTer  and  brighter,  and 
the  heads  larger  and  heavier.  I  should  think  the  right  half  of  the 
field  will  be  ten  Inishels  per  acre  better  than  the  other." 

"So  I  think,"  he  said,  "and  now  can  you  tell  me  why?" — 
"Probalily  you  manured  one  half  the  field  for  turnips,  and  not  the 
otiier  half." — "  No." — "  Yoii  may  have  drawn  offtlie  turnips  from 
half  the  field,  and  fed  them  off  by  sheepon  the  other  half."— "  No, 
both  siiles  were  treated  precisely  alike."— I  c^ave  it  up — "Well," 
said  he,  "  this  half  the  field  on  the  riuht-hand  was  limed,  thirty 
years  ago,  and  that  is  the  only  reason  I  know  for  the  difference. 
And  now  you  need  not  tell  me  that  lime  does  not  pay." 

I  can  well  understand  how  this  might  happen.    The  system  of 


LI  Mi:    AS    A     MAMliK.  217 

rolafmn  a-lopl.-d  w.s.  Isl  .  l..vcr.  -Jd  wheat,  M  turnips,  4th  barh-y, 
socilcil  with  I  lover. 

Now  you  put  «.n.  sav  150  bu.hcls  ..f  Ihnc  for  wheal.     Afi-r  the 
when  the  land  is  manured  and  sown  with  turnips.     The  tiirn.i)8 
»re  eaten  off  <.n  the  land  by  sheep ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  on  th..  half  of  th    field  dressed  with  lime  there  would  be  a 
mueh  heavier  erop  of  turn.ps.     These-  turnips  being  eaten  oH  by 
the  sheep  would  furnish  m-re  manure  f<.r  this  half  than  the  other 
naif       Th.n  a-ain,   when   the  land   was  in  grass  or  elover,  the 
lin»ed  half  w.uild  alTord  more  and  sweeter  grass  and  elover  than 
the  other  half,  and  the  sheip  would  ninain  on  it  longer.    1  hey 
would  eat  it  elo.se  into  the  ground,  going  ..nly  on  to  the  other  half 
when  th.y  eould  not  gc t  «nough  U»  eat  .m  the  lime.l  half.     M..re 
of   their  droppings  would  be  left  on  the  limed  half  of  the  held. 
The  lime,  too.  would  (ontinue  to  a.  t   for  several  years;  but  even 
after  all  direet  benefit  from  the  lime  had  ceased,  it  is  easy  to  un- 
derstand why  the  crops  might  be  better  for  a  long  period  of  time. 
"  Do  you  think  lime  would  do  any  good,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  on 
our  limestone  land  ?  "-I  certainly  d<..     So  far  as  I  have  seen,  it 
docs  just  as  much  goo»l  here  in  Western  New  York,  as  it  did  on 
my  faMier'8  farm.     I  should  use  it  very  freely  if  we  could  get  it 
cheap  enouirh-but  we  are  charged  from  2.-)  to  30  cts.  a  bushel  for 
it,  and  I  d..  not  think  at  these  nites  it  will  piy  to  use  it.    Even  gold 
mav  be  bouir'it  to  dear. 

"You  should  burn  vour  own  lime."  said  the  Deacon.  "  you  have 
plenty  of  limestone  on  the  farm,  an<l  could  use  up  your  down 
wood."— 1  believe  it  woidd  pav  me  to  do  so,  but  one  man  cannot 
do  everythinjT.  I  think  if  farmers  wouM  u.se  more  lime  for  manure 
we  should  get  it  cheaper.  The  demand  would  increase  with  com- 
petition, and  we  should  soon  get  it  at  its  re.il  value.  At  10  to  1.-5 
cents  a  bushel.  I  feel  sure  that  wc  could  use  lime  as  a  manure  with 
very  great  benefit. 

"I  was  much  interested  some  years  airo,"  said  the  Doctor,  "m 
the  results  of  Prof.  Way's  investigations  in  regard  to  the  absorp- 
tive powers  of  soils." 

His  experiments,  since  repeated  and  confirmed  by  other  chem- 
ists, formed  a  new  epoch  in  a-rieullural  chemistry.  They  afforded 
some  new  suggestions  in  regard  to  how  lime  may  benefit  land. 

Prof.  Wav  found  that  ordinary  soils  possessed  the  power  of  sep- 

aratimr.  from  solution  in  water,  the  different  earthy  and  alkaline 

substances  presented  to  them  in  manure ;  thus,  when  solutions  of 

salts  of  ammonia,  of  potash,  magnesia,  etc.,  were  made  to  filter 

10 


218  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

slowly  through  a  l»0(l  of  dry  soil,  five  or  six  inches  deep,  arranged 
in  a  flowerpot,  or  otlior  siiitablo  vessel,  it  was  observed  tliat  the 
liquid  wbieh  ran  through,  no  longer  contained  any  of  the  ammonia 
or  other  salt  employed.  The  soil  bad,  in  some  form  (jr  other,  re- 
tained the  alkaline  substance,  while  the  water  in  which  it  was  pre 
viously  dissolved  passed  through. 

Further,  this  power  of  the  soil  was  found  not  to  extend  to  the 
whole  salt  of  ammonia  or  potash,  but  only  to  the  alkali  itself.  If, 
for  instance,  sulphate  of  ammonia  were  the  compound  used  in  the 
experiments,  the  ammonia  would  be  removed  from  solution,  but 
the  filtered  liquid  would  contain  sulj^huric  acid  in  abundance — 
not  in  the  free  or  uncombined  form,  but  united  to  lime;  instead  of 
sulphate  of  ammonia  we  should  find  sulpiiate  of  lime  in  the  solu- 
tion;  and  this  result  was  obtained,  whatever  the  acid  of  the  sail 
experimented  upon  might  be. 

It  was  found,  moreover,  that  the  process  of  filtration  was  by  no 
means  necessary,  by  the  mere  mixing  of  an  akalinc  solution  with 
a  proper  quantity  of  soil,  as  by  shaking  them  together  in  a  bottle, 
and  allowing  the  Soil  to  subside,  the  same  result  was  obtained. 
The  action,  therefore,  was  in  no  way  referable  to  any  physical 
law  brought  into  operation  by  the  process  of  filtration. 

It  was  also  found  that  the  eombinati<m  between  the  soil  and 
the  alkaline  .'substance  was  rapid,  if  not  in.'^tantaneous,  partaking 
of  the  nature  of  tlie  ordinary  union  between  an  acid  and  an  alkali. 

In  the  course  of  these  experiments,  several  diflerent  soils  were 
operated  upon,  and  it  was  found  that  all  soils  capable  of  profitable 
cultivation  possessed  this  property  in  a  gi eater  or  less  degeee. 

Pure  sand,  it  was  found,  did  not  possess  this  property.  The 
organic  matter  of  the  soil,  it  was  proved,  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  Tlie  addition  of  carbonate  of  lime  to  a  soil  did  not  increase  its 
absorptive  power,  and  indeed  it  was  found  that  a  soil  in  which  car- 
bonate of  lime  did  not  exist,  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  power 
of  removing  ammonia  or  potash  from  solution. 

To  what,  then,  is  the  power  of  soils  to  arrest  ammonia,  potash, 
magnesia,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  owing?  The  above  experiments 
lead  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  due  to  the  cbiy  which  they  contain. 
In  the  language  of  Prof.  Way,  however, 

"  It  still  remained  to  be  considered,  whether  the  whole  clay 
took  any  active  part  in  these  changes,  or  whether  there  existed  in 
clay  some  chemical  compound  in  small  quantity  to  -which  the 
action  wns  due.  This  question  was  to  be  decided  by  the  extent  to 
which  clay  was  able  to  unite  with  ammonia,  or  other  alkaline 
bases;  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  idea  of  the  clay  as  a 


LIMK    AS    A    MANURE.  219 

whole,  hcinij  the  cause  of  tlio  absorptive  property,  was  inconsis- 
tent Willi  all  the  asccrtaint-d  laws  of  chemical  coniliination." 

After  a  series  of  experiments,  Prof.  Way  came  to  tlic  couclusioa 
that  there  is  iu  clays  a  peculiar  class  of  double  silicates  to  which 
the  absorptive  properties  of  soil  are  due.  lie  found  that  the  double 
silicate  of  alumini  and  lime,  or  soda,  whether  found  naturally  in 
soils  or  produced  artiticially,  would  be  decomposed  when  a  salt  of 
ammonia,  or  poUish,  etc.,  was  mixed  with  it,  the  ammonia,  or  pot- 
ash, taking  the  place  of  the  lime  or  soda. 

Prof.  Way's  discovery,  then,  is  not  that  soils  have  "  absorptive 
properties" — that  has  been  Ion?  known — but  that  they  absorb  am- 
monia, potash,  phosphoric  acid,  etc.,  by  virtue  of  the  double  sili- 
cate of  alumina  and  soda,  or  lime,  etc.,  which  they  contain. 

Soils  are  also  found  to  have  the  power  (»f  absorbing  ammonia, 
or  rather  carbonate  of  ammonia,  from  the  air. 

"  It  has  long  been  known,"  says  Prof.  Way,  "  that  soils  acquire 
fertility  by  exposure  to  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere — hence  one 
of  the  uses  of  fallows.  *  *  I  find  that  clay  is  so  greedy  of  ammonia, 
that  if  air,  charged  with  carbonate  of  ammonia,  so  as  to  be  highly 
pungent,  is  passed  through  a  tube  filled  with  small  fragments  of 
dry  clay,  every  pi  rt.'cle  of  (h?  g  is  is  arrested." 

This  power  of  the  soil  to  absorb  ammonia,  is  also  due  to  the 
double  silicates.  But  there  is  this  remarkable  difference,  that  while 
either  the  lime,  soda,  or  potas'.i  silicate  is  capable  of  removing  the 
ammonia  from  solut'on,  the  lime  silicate  alone  has  the  power  of  ab- 
sorbing it  from  the  air. 

This  is  an  important  fact.  Lime  may  act  beneficially  on  many 
or  most  soils  by  converting  the  soda  silicate  into  a  lime  silicate,  or, 
in  other  words,  converting  a  salt  that  will  not  absorb  carbonate  of 
ammonia  from  the  air,  into  a  salt  that  has  this  important  property. 

There  is  no  manure  that  has  been  so  extensively  used,  and  with 
such  general  success  as  lime,  and  yet,  "  who  among  us,"  remarks 
Prof.  Way,  "  can  say  that  he  perfectly  understands  the  mode  in 
which  lime  acts  ? "  We  are  told  that  lime  sweetens  the  soil,  by  neu- 
tralizing any  acid  character  that  it  may  possess ;  that  it  assists  tJ3 
decomposition  of  inert  organic  matters,  and  t'lerefore  increases  the 
supply  of  vegetable  food  to  plants :  that  it  decomposes  the  remains 
of  ancient  rocks  containing  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  etc.,  occurring 
in  most  soils,  and  that  at  the  same  time  it  liberates  silica  from  these 
rocks;  and  lastly,  that  lime  is  one  of  the  substances  found  uni- 
formly ana  in  considerable  quantity  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  that 
therefore  its  application  may  be  beneficial  simply  as  furnishing  a 
material  indispensable  to  the  substance  of  a  plant. 


220  TALKS    ON    MAN  CUES. 

These  explanations  arc  no  donltt  pood  as  far  as  they  iro,  but 
experience  furnishes  many  fads  wliieh  cannot  beexphiiiied  by  any 
one,  or  all,  of  these  suppositions.  Lime,  we  all  know,  does  much 
good  on  soils  abounding  in  orjranij  matter,  and  so  it  frequently 
does  on  soils  ahnost  destitute  of  't.  It  may  liberate  pi)tasii,  soda, 
silica,  •■tc,  from  clay  soils,  i)ut  the  application  of  potash,  soda,  and 
silica  has  little  benelicial  effect  on  the  soil,  and  therefore  we  can- 
not account  for  the  action  of  lime  on  the  supposition  that  it  ren- 
ders the  potash,  soda,  ct<'.,of  the  soil  available  to  plants.  Further- 
more, lime  ctFecls  great  siood  on  soils  abounding  in  salts  of  lime, 
and  thcref'-re  it  cannot  be  that  it  operates  as  a  source  of  lime  for 
the  structure  of  the  plant. 

None  of  the  existing  theories,  therefore,  aatisfr.ctorily  account 
for  the  action  of  lime.  Prof.  Way's  views  are  most  consistent  with 
tljc  facts  of  practical  experience;  but  they  are  confes.sedly  hypo- 
thetical;  and  his  more  recent  investigati(ms  d'»  not  confirm  the 
idea  that  lime  acts  beneficially  by  converting  the  soda  silicate  into 
the  lime  silicate. 

Thus,  six  .<;oils  were  treated  with  lime  water  until  they  had  alv 
sorbed  from  one  and  a  half  t  » two  per  cent  of  their  weight  of  limo. 
This,  supposing  the  soil  to  be  six  inches  deep,  would  be  at  the  rate 
of  about  300  bushels  of  lime  p  r  acre.  Tiie  amoimt  of  ammonia  in 
the  soil  was  determined  before  liming,  after  liming  and  then  after 
being  exposed  to  the  fume-i  of  carltonale  ammonia  until  it  had  ab- 
sorbed as  much  as  it  would.  The  following  table  exhibits  the  results: 


iNo.  1.1  No.  a.  No.  8.  No.  4.  No.  5.  No.  6. 


Ammonia    in    1,000  prains  of  natural  I 

soil O.Sai'o.lSl    0.08.".    0.109    0.137    O.0S3 

Ammonia  in  l.()00  gniius  of   Boil  af.er  I  i 

limin;^ 0.1(»    0.102   0.040   O.OSO     0.051 

Ammonia  in   1.000  ;;ni!na  of  soil  after  III 

limin:;  and  cxpoBiirc  to  the  vopor  of  'I 

ammonia 2.226  !  2.060   .'$.297    1.070   3.265    1.887 

Ammonia  in  1.0  tO  grain;'  of  soil  after  i 

exposure  to  ammonia  without  liming  1.506    2.557    .3.286  1.097    2.615   2.088 

No.  1.  Surface  .«i)il  of  Lo-idon  clay. 

No.  2.  Same  soil  from  I^  ti>  2  feot  below  the  eurface. 

No.  :i.  Same  soil  ."J  f'-ot  hi  low  tho  surface. 

No.  4.  Loam  of  tertian-  drift  I  feet  below  the  enrfacc. 

No.  .I.  (Jau't  clay— surfaci,' soil. 

No.  6.  Ciraltclay  1  feet  below  the  surface. 

It  is  evident  that  lime  neither  assisted  nor  interfered  with  the 
absorption  of  ammonia,  and  hence  the  beneficial  effect  of  liming 
on  such  soils  must  be  accounted  for  on  some  other  supposition. 
This  negative  result,  however,  does  not  disprove  the  truth  of  Prof. 
Way's  hypothesis,  for  it  may  be  that  the  silicate  salt  in  the  natural 
soils  was  that  of  lime  and  not  that  of  soda.     Indeed,  the  extent  to 


MME    AS    A    MANri:K.  ~~' 

which  the  natural  soils  ahsorlx-il  ammonia— oqual,  in  No.  o,  to 
about  7U0()  ll>s.  of  ammonia  per  aero,  cMiuivuknt  to  the  quantily 
conUiino.l  in  700  tons  of  barn-yard  manure— shows  this  to  have 
been  the  ease. 

The  liiiuslibeniUd  oiif-hilf  the  ammonia  ronUiined  tn  (he  foil. 
"This  resu  t,"  says  Prof.  Way.  "is  so  nearly  the  same  in  all 
cases,  that  we  are  justitie  I  in  b.lievin-  it  to  be  due  to  some  special 
cause,  and  probably  it  arises  from  the  existence  of  some  compound 
silicates  contiinin?  ammonia,  of  which  lime  under  the  circum- 
stances can  r.  i.lace  onc-half-formimr,  for  instance,  a  double  sdi- 
a;te  of  alumina,  with  half  lime  and  half  ammonia—such  com- 
pounds arc  not  unusual  or  new  to  the  chemist." 

This  loss  of  ammonia  from  a  heavy  drcssin-  of  lime  is  very 
CTeat  A  soil  five  in»hes  deep,  w.iirhs.  in  n.und  numlxrs,  500  tons, 
or  1  000  000  lbs.  The  soil.  No.  I,  <ontaiiu- 1  .0293  per  cent  of  am- 
monia, or  in  an  acre,  five  inches  deep,  -.):}  lbs.  After  limin..',  it 
contained  .OIGK  per  cent,  or  in  an  acre,  five  inches  deep,  lOJ  lbs 
The  loss  bv  liming  is  124  lbs.  of  ammonia  per  acre.  This  is  equal 
to  the  quantity  contained  in  1200  lbs.  of  good  Peruvian  guano,  or 
12i  tons  of  barn  var  1  manure.  , 

In  commenting  on  this  great  lo^s  of  ammonia  from  limin-. 
Prof.  Wav  observes : 

"  Is  it  not  possible,  that  for  the  profiUible  agricultural  use,  the 
ammonia  of  the  soil  is  t<iO  ti-htly  locked  up  in  it?  Can  we  sup- 
pose  that  the  verv  powers  of  the  soil  U>  unite  with  and  preserve 
the  Clements  of  manure  are,  however  excellent  a  provision  of 
nature,  yet  in  some  de-ree  opposed  to  the  growth  of  tlic  abnormal 
crops  which  it  is  the  business  of  the  farmer  to  cultivate  ?  There 
is  no  absolute  reason  why  such  should  not  be  the  c  ise.  A  provision 
of  nature  must  relate  to  natural  circumstances;  f.)r  instance,  con? 
pounds  of  ammonia  mivhe  found  in  the  soil,  capable  of  giving  out 
to  the  a-encies  of  water  and  air  quite  enou-h  of  ammonia  for  the 
growth  of  ordinarv  plant-s  and  the  preservation  of  their  species ; 
but  this  supply  mav  be  totally  ina.l.quatc  to  the  necessities  of  man. 
•  ♦  *  Now  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  laws  which  preserve  the 
supply  of  ve-etable  nutrition  in  the  soil,  are  too  stringent  for  the 
requirements  of  an  unusual  and  excessive  vegetation,  such  as  the 
cultivator  must  promote. 

"  In  the  case  of  ammonia  locked  up  in  the  soil,  lime  may  be  the 
remedy  at  the  command  of  t'.ie  farraer-his  means  of  rendering 
immediately  available  stores  of  wealth,  waich  can  otherwise  only 
slowly  be  brou<_'lit  into  use. 

"  In  this  view,  lime  would  well  deserve  the  somewhat  vague 


222  TALKS    OV    MAXIRBS. 

nime  that  has  been  given  it,  namely,  that  of  a  '  stimulant ' ;  for  its 
appiic-ation  would  be  in  some  sort  an  application  of  ammonia, 
whil '  its  excessive  application,  by  clrivnig  off  ammonia,  would 
k-ad  to  all  the  disastrous  effects  wiiich  are  so  justly  attributed  to  it. 
"I  do  not  wish  to  push  tliis  assumption  too  far."  says  Prof. 
Way,  in  conclusion,  "but  if  there  be  any  truth  in  it,  it  points  out 
the  import.inc('  of  employ!  g  ''"^c  in  small  (luaiitities  at  short  in- 
tervals, rather  than  in  large  doses  once  in  many  years." 


"The  Squire,  last  year,"  said  the  Deacon,  "drew  several  hundred 
bushels  of  refuse  lime  from  tlie  kiln,  and  mixed  it  with  his  ma- 
nure. It  made  a  powerful  smi-ll,  an  1  not  an  agreeaide  one,  to  the 
passers  by.  He  put  llic  mixture  on  a  twenty-acre  field  of  wheat, 
and  hi  said  he  was  going  to  beat  you." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  so  I  un  lerstoo  1 — l»ut  he  did  not  do  it.  If  he 
ha  1  applied  the  lime  and  the  manure  separately,  he  would  have 
stood  a  better  chance;  still,  there  are  two  sides  to  the  question. 
I  should  not  think  of  mixing  lime  witli  good,  rich  farm-yard  ma- 
nure; but  with  long,  coarsf.  strawy  manure,  there  would  be  less 
injury,  and  i)ossibly  some  advantage." 

"Tlie  S  I'lin-,"  said  the  Deacon.  "  got  one  advantage.  He  had 
not  much  trouble  in  drawing  the  manure  about  the  land.  There 
was  not  much  of  it  left." 

Lime  does  not  always  decompose  organic  matter.  In  certain 
conditions,  it  will  prtserve  vegetaiile  substances.  We  do  not  want 
to  mix  lime  with  manure  in  order  to  preserve  it;  and  if  our  object 
is  to  increase  fermentation,  we  must  be  careful  to  mix  sufficient  soil 
with  the  manure  to  keep  it  moist  enough  to  retain  the  liberated 
ammonia. 


Many  farmers  who  use  lime  for  the  first  time  on  wheat,  are  apt 
to  feel  a  little  discouraged  in  the  spring.  I  hive  frequently  seen 
limed  wheat  in  the  spring  look  worse  thfiu  where  no  lime  was 
used.  But  wait  a  little,  and  you  will  see  a  change  for  the  better, 
and  at  harvest,  the  lime  will  generally  give  a  good  account  of  itself. 

There  is  one  thing  about  lime  which,  if  generally  true,  is  an  im- 
portant matter  to  our  wheat-growers.  Lime  is  believed  to  hasten 
the  maturity  of  the  crop.  "  It  is  true  of  nearly  all  our  cultivated 
crops,"  says  the  late  Professor  Johnston,  "  but  especially  of  those 
of  wheat,  that  their  full  growth  is  attained  more  speedily  when 
the  land  is  limed,  and  that  they  are  ready  for  the  harvest  from 
ten  to  fourteen  days  earlier.     This  is  the  cise  even  witii  buck- 


LI  Mi:    AS    A    MANUUh.  •—"» 

wh.at   which  becomes  sooner  ripe,  though  it  yields  no  larger  a 
relur./ when  lime  is  applied  t..  the  hmd  on  which  it  is  .'?rown 

1„  ui^trkts  where  the  mid^-e  aff.cts  the  wheat.  U  is  exceedingly 
imp<.rtant  to  get  a  variety  of  wheat  that  ripens  early ;  and  if  mie 
will  favor  early  maturity,  without  checking  the  growth,  it  will  be 
of  great  value.  

A  correspondent  in  Delaware  writes:  "I  have  used  lime  as. 
manure  in  various  ways.  For  low  land,  the  best  way  is,  t<.  sow  it 
Troaacast  while  the  vegetation  is  in  a  green  state,  at  the  ra  e  of  40 
or  50  bushels  to  the  a.re ;  but  if  I  can  not  use  it  before  the  frost 
kills  the  ve-'Ctation.  I  wait  until  the  land  is  plowed  in  the  spring, 
when  I  spread  it  on  the  plowed  u-rnuud  in  about  the  same  cp.ant.ty 
as  before  Last  year,  I  tried  il  bo.h  ways,  and  the  result  was  my 
crop  w,us  increased  at  least  fourlold  in  each  instance,  but  that 
used  on  the  veirelation  was  best.    The  soil  is  a  low,  black  sa»d. 

A  farmer  writes  frou.  New  Jersey,  that  he  has  used  ov.  r 
C  000  bushels  of  lime  on  his  farm,  and  also  considerable  guano  and 
nh..sphates,  but  considers  tnat  the  lime  has  pail  the  best.  Is 
farm  has  mole  than  doubled  in  real  value,  and  he  attributes  this 

prinfipallv  to  the  use  of  lime. 

^  MU- lime."  he  says,  "whenever  it  i3  convenient  but  prefer  to 
put  it  on  at  least  one  year  before  plov.ing  the  land  We  spread 
from  25  to  40  bushels  of  lime  on  the  sod  in  the  fall ;  plant  with 
corn  the  f.dlowing  summer;  next  spring,  sow  with  oats  and 
clover;  and  the  ne..t  summer,  plow  under  the  c  over  and  sow 
with  wheat  and  timothy.  We  have  a  variety  of  soils  from  a 
sandy  loam  to  a  stiff  clay,  and  are  certain  that  lime  will  pay  on 
all  or  any  of  them.  Some  of  the  best  farmers  in  our  C..unty  com- 
menced iiminir  when  the  lime  cost  25  cts.  a  bushel,  and  their  farms 
are  ahead  yet,  more  in  value,  I  indge.  than  tue  hme  cost  The 
man  who  first  commences  using  lime,  will  get  so  far  ahead,  whUe 
his  neighbors  arc  looking  on.  that  they  will  never  catch  up.    ^^ 

Another  correspondent  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  >*.  J.,  writes  :  r.^- 
perience  has  tauirht  me  that  the  best  and  most  profitable  mode  of 
Applying  lime  is  on  grass  land.  If  the  grass  seed  is  «own  in  the 
fill  with  the  wheat  or  rye,  which  is  the  common  practice  with  us 
in  New  Jersey,  as  soon  as  the  l-.arvcst  comes  off  the  next  year,  we 
apply  the  lime  with  the  least  delay,  and  while  fresh  slacked  and  in 
a  dry  .and  mealy  state.  It  can  be  spread  more  evenly  on  the 
ground,  and  is  in  a  state  to  be  more  readily  taten  „p  by  the  fine 
roots  of  the  plants,  than  if  allowed  to  got  wet  and  clammy.  It  m 
found  most  beneficial  to  keep  it  as  near  the  surface  of  the  ground 


224  TALKS    OX    JIANCRES. 

as  practicable,  as  the  specific  gravity  or  weight  of  this  mineral 
manure  is  so  great,  that  we  soon  find  it  too  deep  in  the  ground  for 
the  librous  roots  of  plants  to  derive  the  greatest  possible  benefit 
from  its  use.  With  this  method  of  application  are  connected  sev- 
eral advantages.  The  Ii:iie  can  be  hauled  in  the  fall,  after  the 
bu.«!y  season  is  over,  and  when  spread  on  the  sod  in  this  way,  comes 
in  more  immediate  contact  with  the  grass  and  grass-roots  than 
when  the  land  is  first  plowed.  In  fields  that  have  been  limed  in 
part  in  this  manner,  and  then  plowed,  and  lime  applied  to  the 
remainder  at  the  time  of  planting  with  corn,  I  always  observe  a 
great  dillerence  in  the  corn-crop ;  and  in  plowing  up  the  stubble 
the  next  season,  the  part  limed  on  the  sod  is  much  mellower  than 
that  limed  after  the  sod  was  broken,  presenting  a  rich  vegetable 
mould  not  observed  in  the  other  part  of  the  field." 

A  farmer  in  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  also  prefers  to  apply  lime  to  newlj-. 
seeded  gras.s  or  clover.  He  puts  on  100  bushels  of  slaked  lime  per 
acre,  cither  in  tlie  fall  or  in  tlie  spring,  as  most  convenient.  He 
limes  one  field  every  year,  and  as  the  farm  is  laid  off  into  eleven 
fields,  all  the  land  receives  a  dressing  of  lime  once  in  eleven  years. 


In  some  sections  of  the  country,  where  lime  has  been  used  for 
many  years,  it  is  possible  that  part  of  the  money  might  better  be 
used  in  the  purchase  of  guano,  phosphates,  fish-manure,  etc. ;  while 
in  this  section,  where  we  seldom  use  lime,  we  might  find  it  great- 
1}'  to  our  interest  to  give  our  land  an  occasional  dressing  of  lime. 

The  value  of  q  ick-lime  as  a  manure  is  not  merely  in  supplying 
an  actual  constituent  of  the  plant.  If  it  was,  a  few  pounds  per 
acre  would  be  sufiicient.  Its  value  consists  in  changing  the  chem- 
ical anl  physical  character  of  the  soil — in  developing  the  latent 
mineral  plant-food,  and  in  decomposing  and  rendering  available 
organic  matter,  and  in  forming  compounds  which  attract  ammonia 
from  the  atmospliere.  It  may  be  that  we  can  purchase  this  am- 
monia and  other  plant- food  cheaper  tlian  we  can  get  it  by  using 
lime.  It  depends  a  good  deal  on  the  nature  and  composition  of 
the  soil.  At  present,  this  question  can  not  be  definitely  settled, 
except  by  actual  trial  on  the  farm.  In  England,  where  lime  was 
formerly  used  in  large  quantities,  the  tendency  for  some  time  has 
been  towards  a  more  liberal  and  direct  use  of  ammonia  and  phos- 
phates in  manures,  rather  tlian  to  develop  them  out  of  the  soil  by 
the  use  of  lime.  A  judicious  combination  of  tlie  two  systems  will 
probably  be  found  the  most  profitable. 


Making  composts  with  old  sods,  lime,  and  barn-yard  manure,  is 


LIME    AS    A    MANL'IIE.  ZZi) 

a  time-honored  praclicc  in  Europe.  I  have  seen  oxcclknt  nsiills 
from  llie  application  of  sucii  a  compost  on  mcadow-Iaiid.  The 
usu.d  plan  is,  to  select  an  old  hcd^o-row  or  headland,  which  has 
lain  waste  for  iiiany  years.  Plow  it  up,  and  cart  the  soil,  sods, 
etc.,  into  a  long,  narrow  heap.  Mi.\  lime  with  it,  and  let  it  lie  six 
months  or  a  year.  Then  turn  it,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  tine  and  mel- 
low, draw  it  on  to  llie  land.  I  have  a^^sistcd  at  making'  many  a 
heap  of  this  kind,  but  do  not  recollect  the  proporlioti  of  lime  used; 
in  fact,  I  (juestion  if  we  had  any  definite  rule.  If  we  wanted  to 
use  lime  on  tlie  land,  we  put  more  in  the  hea]>;  if  not,  less.  Tlie 
manure  was  u.^ually  put  in  wlien  the  heap  was  turned. 

Dr.  Voelcker  analyzed  the  dry  earth  used  in  the  closets  at  the 
prison  in  Wakefield,  England,     lie  found  that: 

Nitro-  J'/iosp/ior- 

ifit.  XV  Ai-itl. 

10  tons  of  dry  earth  bofore  usint;  contained 6'i  lbs.  36  1I)r. 

10  tons  of  dry  cartli  after  t)oinij  used  once  contnined...  74    "  50   " 

10  tons  (if  dry  citrtli  after  ticing  used  twice  cnntainetl..  84    "  88   " 

10  tons  of  dry  eartti  after  being  used  thrice  contained.  10^    "  102  " 

After  looking  at  the  alcove  figures,  the  Deacon  remarked  :  "  You 
say  10  tons  of  dry  earth  before  jjeing  used  in  the  closet  contained 
62  lbs.  of  nitrogen.  How  much  nitrogen  does  10  tons  of  barn- 
yaid  manure  contain?" 

"That  depends  a  good  deal  on  what  food  the  animals  eat.  Ten  tons 
of  average  fresh  manure  would  contain  about  80  lbs.  of  nitrogen." 

"  Great  are  the  mysteries  of  chemistry  !  "  exclaimed  the  Deacon. 
"Ten  tons  of  dry  earth  contain  almost  as  much  nitrogen  as  10 
tons  of  barn-yard  manure,  and  yet  you  think  that  nitrogen  is  the 
mo;>t  valuable  thing  in  manure.     What  shall  we  be  told  next  ?" 

"  You  will  be  told.  Deacon,  that  :he  nitrogen  in  the  soil  is  in 
such  a  form  that  the  plants  can  take  up  only  a  small  i)f)rtion  of  it. 
But  if  you  will  plow  such  land  in  the  fall,  and  expose  it  to  the 
disintegrating  eJfccts  of  the  frost,  and  plow  it  again  in  the  fiprinir, 
and  let  the  sun  and  air  act  upon  it,  more  or  less  of  the  organic 
matter  in  the  soil  will  be  decomposed,  and  the  nitrogen  rendered 
solulde.  And  then  if  you  sow  this  land  to  wheat  after  a  good 
summer- fallow,  you  will  stand  a  chance  of  having  a  great  crop." 

This  dry  earth  which  Dr.  Voplcker  analyzed  appeared,  he  says, 
"to  be  ordinary  garden  soil,  containing  a  con-iderable  portion  of 
clay."  After  it  had  been  passed  once  through  the  closet,  one  ton 
of  it  was  .'spread  on  an  acre  of  grass-land,  which  produced  2  tons 
8  cwt.  of  hay.  In  a  second  experiment,  one  ton,  once  pa.sscd 
through  the  closet,  produced  2  tons  7  cwt.  of  hay  per  acre.  We 
are  not  told  how  much  ha}-  the  land  produced  without  an}'  dress- 


226  TALKS    OX    .MANURES. 

ing  at  all.  Still  we  may  infer  that  this  top-dressing  did  considera- 
ble good.  Of  one  thing,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  This  one 
ton  of  earth  manure  contained  -.^uly  li  lb.  more  nitrogen  and  1^  lb. 
more  phosphoric  acid  than  a  ton  of  the  dry  earth  itself.  Why 
then  did  it  prove  so  valuable  as  a  top-dressing  for  grass  ?  I  will 
not  say  that  it  was  due  solely  to  the  decomposition  of  the  nitro- 
genous mailer  and  other  plant-food  in  the  earth,  caused  Ity  the 
working  over  and  sifting  and  exposure  to  ihe  air,  and  to  the  action 
of  the  nighl-soil.  Still  it  would  seem  that,  so  far  as  the  beneficial 
effect  was  due  to  the  supply  of  plant-food,  we  must  attribute  it  to 
the  eartii  itself  ratlier  than  to  the  small  amount  of  night-soil 
•which  it  contained. 

It  is  a  very  common  thing  in  England,  as  I  have  said  before,  for 
farmers  to  make  a  compost  of  the  sods  and  earth  from  an  old 
hedge-row,  ditch,  or  fence,  and  mix  with  it  some  lime  or  barn- 
yard manure.  Then,  after  turning  it  once  or  twice,  and  allow- 
ing it  to  remain  in  the  heap  for  a  few  months,  to  spread  it  on 
meadow-land.  I  have  seen  great  benefit  apparently  derived  from 
sucii  a  top-dressing.  The  young  grass  in  the  spring  a.ssumed  a 
rich,  dark  green  color.  I  have  observed  the  same  effect  where 
coal-a.<5hes  were  spread  on  grass-land ;  and  I  have  thought  that 
the  apparent  1)enefit  was  due  largely  to  the  material  acting  as  a 
kind  of  mulch,  rather  than  to  :ts  supplying  plant-food  to  the  grass. 


I  doubt  very  much  whether  we  can  afford  to  make  such  a  com- 
post of  earth  with  lime,  a.shes.  or  manure  in  this  country.  But  I 
feel  sure  that  those  of  us  having  ricli  day  land  containing,  in  an 
inert  form,  as  much  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  as  Dr.  Va^lcker 
found  in  Ihe  soil  to  b"  used  in  the  earth-closet  at  Wakefield,  can 
well  afford  to  stir  it  freely,  and  expose  it  to  the  disintegrating  and 
decomposing  action  of  the  atmosphere. 

An  acre  of  dry  soil  six  inches  deep  weighs  about  1,000  tons;  and 
consequently  an  acre  of  such  soil  as  we  are  talking  about  would 
contain  6,200  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  and  8,600  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  In 
other  words,  it  contains  to  the  depth  of  only  six  inches  as  much 
nitrogen  as  would  lie  furnished  by  775  tons  of  common  barn-yard 
manure,  and  as  much  phosphoric  acid  as  900  tons  of  manure. 
With  such  facts  as  these  before  us,  am  I  to  blame  for  urging  farmers 
to  cultivate  tlieir  land  more  thoroughly?  I  do  not  know  that  my 
land  or  the  Deacon's  is  as  rich  as  this  English  soil ;  but,at  any  rate, 
I  see  no  reason  why  such  should  not  be  the  case. 


MANURES    FOU    DARLEY.  227 

CHAPTEK     XXIX. 
MANURES    FOR     BARLEY. 

Messrs.  Lawcs  ami  Gill)crt  have  j)ublisbeJ  the  results  of  experi- 
ments witli  tlitrcrciit  manures  on  barley  grown  annually  on  the 
same  land  for  twenty  years  in  succession.  The  experiments  com- 
menced in  l>i')2. 

The  soil  is  of  the  same  general  chanicter  as  that  in  the  field  on 
tlie  same  farm  where  wheat  was  grown  annually  for  so  many 
years,  and  of  which  we  have  given  such  a  full  account.  It  is  what 
we  should  call  a  calcareous  clay  loam.  On  my  farm,  we  have 
what  the  men  used  to  call  "  clay  sjjots."  These  spots  var\'  in  sb,e 
from  two  acres  down  to  the  tentli  of  an  acre.  Tliey  rarely  pro- 
duced even  a  fair  crop  of  corn  or  potatoes,  and  the  barley  was  sel- 
dom wortli  harvesting.  Since  1  have  drained  the  land  and  taken 
special  pains  to  bestow  e.vtra  care  in  plowing  and  working  these 
hard  and  iiitraftable  portions  of  the  fields,  the  "da}'  sjxits"  have 
disappeared,  and  are  now  nothing  more  than  good,  rather  stiff,  clay 
loam,  admirably  adapted  for  wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  and  capable 
of  producing  good  crops  of  corn,  potatoes,  and  mangel-wurzcls. 

The  land  on  which  Mr.  Lawes'  wheat  and  barley  experiments 
were  made  is  not  dissimilar  in  general  character  from  these  "clay 
spots."  If  the  land  was  only  half-worked,  we  should  call  it  clay; 
but  being  thoroughly  cultivated,  it  is  a  good  clay  loam.  Mr. 
Lawes  describes  it  as  "  a  somewhat  heav>'  loam,  with  a  subsoil  of 
raw,  yellowish  red  clay,  but  resting  in  its  turn  upon  chalk,  which 
provides  good  natural  drainage." 

The  part  of  the  fiild  devoted  to  the  experiments  was  divided 
into  24  plots,  about  the  fifth  of  an  acre  each. 

Two  plots  were  left  without  manure  of  any  kind. 

One  plot  was  manured  every  year  with  14  tons  per  acre  of  farm- 
yard manure,  and  the  other  plots  "with  manures,'' to  quote  Dr. 
Gilbert,  "  which  respectively  supplied  certain  constituents  of  farm- 
yard manure,  separately  or  in  combination." 

In  England,  the  best  barley  soils  are  usually  lighter  than  the 
best  wheat  soils.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  barley 
usually  follows  a  crop  of  turnips — more  or  less  of  which  are  eaten 
off  on  the  land  by  sheep.  The  trampling  of  the  sheep  compresses 
the  soil,  and  makes  even  a  light,  sandy  one  firmer  in  texture. 

In  this  country,  our  best  wheat  land  is  also  oar  best  barley 
land,  provided  it  is  in  good  heart,  and  is  very  thoroughly  worked. 


228 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


It  is  no  use  sowing  barley  on  heavy  land  half  worked.  It  will  do 
better  on  light  soils  ;  but  if  the  clayey  soils  are  made  fine  and  mel- 
low, they  produce  with  us  the  best  barley. 

In  chemical  composition,  barley  is  quite  similar  to  wheat.  Mr. 
Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert  civc  the  composition  of  a  wheat-crop  of  80 
bushels  per  acre,  1,800  lbs.  of  grain,  and  3,000  lbs.  of  straw;  and 
of  a  crop  of  barley,  40  bushels  per  acre,  2,080  lbs.  grain,  and  2,500 
lbs.  of  straw,  as  follows : 


In  Grain 


Nitropcn 

Phosphoric  acid. 

Potach 

Lime 

MH(;DC8ia 

Silica 


In  Straw. 


W/ieat. 

BarUnj. 

\be. 

lbs. 

13. 

12. 

7. 

5. 

20.5 

18.5 

9. 

10.5 

3. 

2.5 

99.5 

M. 

in  Total  Produce. 

/■ 

Wheat. 

Barley. 

IbB. 

lbs. 

4'j. 

45. 

2.J. 

22. 

30. 

30. 

10. 

12. 

«.5 

6.5 

100. 

75. 

A  few  years  ago,  when  the  midge  destroyed  our  wheat,  many 
farmers  in  Western  New  York  raised  "winter  barley,"  instead  of 
"  winter  wheat,"  and  I  have  seen  remarkably  heavy  crops  of  thi.s 
winter  barley.  It  is  not  now  grown  with  us.  The  maltsters  would 
not  pay  as  much  for  it  as  for  spring  barley,  and  as  the  midge 
troubles  us  less,  our  farmers  are  raising  winter  wheat  again. 

Where,  as  with  us,  we  raise  winter  wheat  and  spring  bailey,  the 
difference  between  the  two  crops,  taking  the  above  estimate  of 
yield  and  proportion  of  grain  to  straw,  would  be: 

1st.  Almost  identical  composition  in  regard  to  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  potash,  lime,  and  magnesia ;  but  as  it  has  more  straw, 
the  wheat -crop  removes  a  larger  amount  of  silica  than  barley. 

2d.  The  greatest  difference  is  in  the  lcn','th  of  time  tiie  two 
crops  are  in  the  ground.  We  sow  our  winter  wheat  the  last  of 
August,  or  the  first  and  second  week  in  September.  Before  win- 
ter sets  in,  the  wheat-plant  often  throws  out  a  bunch  of  roots  a 
foot  in  length.  During  the  winter,  though  the  thermometer  goes 
down  frequently  to  zero,  and  sometimes  10  to  15  below  zero,  yet 
if  the  land  is  well  covered  with  snow,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
roots  continue  to  absorb  more  or  less  food  from  the  ground,  and 
store  it  up  for  future  use.  In  the  spring,  the  wheat  commences  to 
grow  before  we  can  get  the  barley  into  the  ground,  though  not  to 
any  consideralile  extent.  I  have  several  times  sown  barley  as  soon 
as  the  surface-soil  was  thawed  out  five  or  si.K  inches  deep,  but  with 
a  bed  of  solid  frozen  earth  beneath. 

3d.  Two-rowed  barley  does  not  ripen  as  early  as  winter  wheat, 
but  our  ordinary  six-rowed  barley  is  ready  to  harvest  the  same 
time  as  our  winter  wheat. 


MANURES    FOR    BARLKT.  2ii9 

4th.  Wc  SOW  our  barley  usually  in  May,  and  harvest  it  in  July, 
The  barley,  therefore,  has  to  take  up  its  food  rapidly.  If  wc  ex- 
pect a  good  growth,  we  must  provide  a  good  supply  of  food,  and 
have  it  in  the  proper  condition  for  the  roots  to  reach  it  and  absorb 
it;  in  otlier  words,  the  land  must  be  not  only  rich,  but  it  must  he 
6o  well  worked  that  the  roots  can  spread  out  easily  and  rapidly  in 
search  of  food  and  water.  In  this  country,  you  will  hud  ten  good 
wbcat-growers  to  one  good  barley  grower. 

"  That  is  so,"  saiil  the  Deacon  ;  "  but  tell  us  about  Mr.  Liiwcs' 
experiments.  I  have  more  confidence  in  them  than  in  your  spec- 
ulations. And  first  of  all  \\hat  kind  of  land  was  the  barley  grown 
on  ?  " 

"  It  is,"  said  I,  "  nither  heavy  hind — as  heavy  as  what  the  men 
call  '  cl.iy-spot.s,'  on  my  farm." 

"  And  on  those  day-spots,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  either  get 
very  good  barley,  or  a  crop  not  worth  harvesting." 

"  You  have  hit  it  exactly.  Deacon,"  said  I.  "The  b(st  barley  I 
have  this  year  (1878)  is  on  Ihise  clay-spots.  And  the  reason  is, 
that  wc  gave  liiem  an  extra  plowing  last  fall  with  a  three-horse 
plow.  Tha>  extra  plowing  has  probably  given  me  an  extra  30 
bushels  of  barley  per  acre.  The  barley  on  some  of  the  lighter  por- 
tions of  the  field  will  not  yield  over  25  bushels  per  acre.  On  t'lc 
cl.iy-sj>ots,  it  looks  now  (June  13)  as  though  there  would  be  over 
50  bushels  per  acre.  It  is  all  headed  out  handsomely  on  the  clay- 
spots,  and  has  a  strong,  dark,  luxuriant  appearance,  while  on  the 
sand,  the  crop  is  later  and  has  a  yellow,  sickly  look." 

"  Tou  ouglit,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  to  have  top-dressed  these  poor, 
sandy  parts  of  the  field  with  a  little  superphosphate  and  nitrate 
of  soda." 

"  It  would  have  paid  wonderfully  well,"  said  I, "  or,  perhaps, 
more  correctly  speaking,  the  loss  would  have  been  considerably 
less.  "We  have  recently  been  advised  by  a  distinguished  writer,  to 
apply  manure  t)  our  best  land,  and  let  the  poor  land  take  care  of 
itself.  But  where  the  poor  Ipnd  is  i  i  the  same  field  with  the  good, 
we  are  obliged  to  plow,  harrow,  cultivate,  sow,  and  harvest  the 
poor  spots,  and  the  question  is,  whether  we  shall  make  them  capa- 
ble of  producing  a  good  crop  by  the  application  of  manure,  or  be 
at  all  the  labor  and  expense  of  putting  in  and  harvesting  a  crop 
of  chicken-feed  and  weeds.  Artificial  manures  give  us  a  grand 
chance  to  make  our  crops  more  uniform." 

"You  are  certainly  riglit  there,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  let  us 
examine  the  Rothamsted  experiments  on  barley." 

You  will  find  the  results  in  the  following  tables.     The  manures 


230  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

used,  arc  in  many  respects  the  same  as  were  adopted  in  the  wheat 
experiments  already  given.  The  mineral  or  ash  constituents  were 
supplied  as  follows: 

Potdsh — as  sulphate  of  potash. 
Soda — as  sulphate  of  soda. 
Magnesia — as  s^ulpliatP  of  mai^nosia. 
Lime — as  sulphate,  phosphate,  and  superphosphate. 
Pliosphoric  acid — as  bone-ash,  mixed  with  suflicient  sulphuric 
acid  to  convert  most  of  the  insoluble  earliiy  pbnsphale  of 
lime  into  sulphate  and  soluble  superphosphate  of  lime. 
Sulphuric  acid — in  the  phosi)hatic  mixture  just  mentioned;  in 
sulphates  of  potash, soda,  and  magnesia;  in  sulphate  of  am- 
monia, etc. 
Chlorine — in  muriate  of  ammonia. 
Silica — as  artificial  silicate  of  soda. 
Other  constituents  were  supplied  as  under: 
Nitrogen — as  sulphate  and  muriate  of  ammonia;  as  nitrate  of 

soda:  in  farm-yard  manure;  in  rape-cake. 
Non-nitrogenous  org>tnic  matter,  yielding  by  decomposition,  car- 
bonic acid,  and  other  products — in  yard  manure,  in  rapc-cakc. 
The  artificial  manure  or  mixture  for  each  i)lot  was  ground  up,  or 
otherwise  mixed,  with  a  suflicient  quantity  of  soil  and  turf-aslics 
to  make  it  up  to  a  convenient  measure  for  equal  distributiim  over 
tlic  laud.  Tiie  mixtures  so  jirepaied  were,  with  proper  ]T((aiiti()ns, 
sown  broadcast  by  hand;  as  it  has  been  found  that  the  application 
of  an  exact  amount  of  manure,  to  a  limited  area  of  land,  can  bo 
best  accomplished  in  that  way. 

The  same  manures  were  used  on  the  same  plot  each  year.     Any 
exceptions  to  this  rule  are  mentioned  in  foot-notes. 


MANUr.ES    I'OU    MAULEY. 


231 


EXPERIMBNTS  ON  TTIB  (iROWTn   OF   BaRLET,  TEAR  AFTER  TEAR,  ON  THE 

SAUK  LAND,   WITIIOIT  MaNCICE,  AM)  WITH    DIKFEKKNT  rESCUlPTIONS 

OF    MaNIHIJ.       IIOOS    FlEM),    RoTIIAMSTED,    KNGLAND. 

TABLK  I.— snowiNo.  tiil^n    together  tcilh  the    foot-note-;  the  nrsirRH'TioN  and 

QUAKTITIKS  OF   THE    MAM  KES    AI'I'LIKl"   I'EB    APRK   ON    EACH   I'LOT,   l.N   KACH 
YEAR  OF   TUB   TWENTY,  1S52   1S71    INlLfBlVK. 

[N.  B.  Thl»  table  has  reference  to  all  the  hucceedluK  Tables]. 


PloU. 

1  o. 

3  O. 
S  O. 

4  O. 

1  A. 

2  A. 
8  A. 

IIAK(7B>S  PBB  ACBB,  PER  ANNUM  iu»/<!««  Otherwise  stated 
in  thefoot-noteM).  I 


PloU. 


ri  A\. 

2  AA. 

3  AA. 


(\  AAS 
2  A.VS 

S  AAS 

.4  AAS 

fl  C. 
2  C. 
SC. 

[4  C. 


TTJ2N. 


6  O. 
S  A. 


!<1 


Unmanurert  cuntlnuougly 

3S  cwts.  Siiix'rphospi.ale  of  Lime  • 

2iUll).'<.  tSuli'!i:ii<'  >r  Toiasg,  lUUlbs.  %  Sulphate  Soda,  lOUlba. 
Sulphate  N!  

2U0  ii)g.  t  M:  ^  1UU  lbs.  X  Sulphate  Soda,  lOU  lbs. 
Siilphaii'  "  cwl!).  Superphu-pi  ate 

a")  Ib.t.  .Mil  

aaUh.s.  .\ii)  -.  Super  phosphate 

am  lt>9.  .\ii  t  Sulphate  PotanH,  100  lbs.  t , 
Suli«liuii  - .     itc  MaK'Dola 

201  Itih.  AiiiiiiouU  t,.i;:»,  Au  ibi.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  UO  lbs.  t ' 
Sulplmie  Soda,  UIU  lbs.  Sulphate  MaKDesIa,  3^  cwts.  Su 
perpliosphale  t 

275  lbs.  Nil  rate  Sinl:i  

2T5  lbs.  Nitrate  S.nia,  :i  i  cwts.  Su'ii-rpliogpliate 

275  lbs.  NIrt-at.-  s,.  la,  iO  lbs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  I'X)  lbs.  i 
Sulphate  SoJa.  W  Ibd.  Sulphate  Ma.-iiesla 

275  lbs.  Mt  ate  Soda,  AVI  lbs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  lbs.  t, 
Sulphate  Soila.  no  lbs.  Sulphate  .Slagucsia,  3^  cwts.  Su- 
perphosphate  I 

275  lbs.  NUrati-  Suda,  4<«i  Ihs.  "T  Silicate  .'^oda | 

275  lbs.  Nlir.ii.'  .-oda.  100  lbs.  ^  Silicate  Soda,  3H  cwts.  Su- 
perpli'.Bpli.ite 

275  lbs.  Nitrate  Soda,  4i>i  lbs.  "  Silicate  Soda.  3X1  lbs.  t  Sul- 
phate P.ita.-<s.  lUO  lbs.  :  Sulphate  Soda.  IW  lbs.  Sulpbato 
Slatniesla i 

275  lbs.  Nitrate  Snda.  400  lbs.  i:  Silicate  Soda,  300  lbs.  t  Sul- 
phate Potiusg,  10»  lbs.  :  Sulphate  Soda,  100  lbs.  Sulphate  I 
Ma;;ue-la,  :t'..  ewts.  Superphosphate 

lao  Iba.  l;ape-eake 

lOUMbs   UaiK-eake,  3S  cwts.  Superphosptiate. 

luOO  lbs.  laj>e-cake.  'M  lh«.  t  Suliiliate  p..ta-8,  100  lbs.  i  Sul- 

1    pliale  Soda.  h«i  lbs.  Mipliate  .vlaKnc^ia 

icon  lbs.  Kape-ca^e.  200  lbs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  100  lbs.  J  Sul-  j 

I    pliaie  s>>da,  luu  lbs    .>^ulphate  Mat^iiesla,  3)^  cwta.  Super- 

I    ph  'Sphate 

2;5  Ibj.  Nitrate  Soda 

275  lbs.  Nitrate  Soda  (550  lbs.  Nitrate  for  5  years,  1853,  4,  5,  6, 1 

I    and  7) I 

lOo  lbs.  XX  Sulphate  Sod*,  lOu  lbs.  Sulphate  Mapnesla,  3^ 
cwts.  Superphosphate  .coininenclug  1855;  1852,  3,  and  4, 

I     uninaniinili 

200  lbs.  +  Sulphate  Potass,  3'«;  cwts.  Superphosphate  (2C01b8. 

I     .\iiimoiila-salts also,  for  the  first  year, 1852,  only; I 

20t)  lbs.  t  Sulphate  Potass,  3H  cwts.  Superphosphate,  200  lbs 
Arauionla-salts 

C niuanu red  con 1 1 nuously 

lAshes    burnt--oll  and  tui^) 

14  Tons  Farmyard- .Manure 


1  O. 

2  O. 


4  O. 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 


4  A. 

1  AA. 

2  A  A. 


3  AA.  \  I 


4  AA. 

1  AAS 


4  AAS. 

1  C. 

2  C. 

3  C. 


4C. 

1  N. 


M. 

S  O. 


5  A. 


n 


NOXr.S  TO  TABLE  I. 

•"3S  cwts.  Superphosphate  of  Lime'— In  all  cases,  made  from  200  lbs.  Boa&> 
asb,  150  lbs.  Sulphuric  aejil  sp.  pr.  1.7   and  water  . 

t  Sulphate  Potass    :««•  lbs.  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years.  1S52-7. 

i  Sulphate  Soda  -2ni  lbs.  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years,  185'J-7. 

§  The"  .\inmonla-salt8  "— luall  cases  equal  parts  of  Sulphate  and  Muriate  of  Am« 
monla  of  Ciimmerce.  .  „    :,     .,«. 

|Plots"A.\"  and  ".\  AS  "—first  6  years.  1852-7,  instead  of  Nitrate  of  Soda,  400 
lbs.  Aninionia-salrs  per  annum;  next  10  vears,  1858-67,200  lbs.  Ammnnia-salts  per 
annum  ;  ISM.  and  since,  275  lbs.  Nitrate  of  Soda  per  annum.  275  lbs.  Nitrate  of  Soda 
Is  reckoned  to  c 'ntain  the  same  :imount  of  Nitropen  as  200  lbs.  "  Ammonia-salts." 

'\  Plots  "A.\S"— the  applicalon  of  Silicates  did  not  commence  until  1864;  In 
'W-.V*.  and  7, 2<0  lbs.  Silicate  of  Soda  and  20u  lbs.  Silicate  of  Lime  were  applied  per 
•ere,  but  In  1S68.  and  since,  I'O  lbs.  Silicate  of  Soda,  and  no  Silicate  of  Lime.  1  heso 
plots  compri-e.  respectively,  one  half  of  the  (jrlEinal  "  A  A  "  plots,  and.  excepting  the 
addition  of  the  Silicates,  have  been,  and  are,  in  other  respects,  manured  in  the  same 
way  as  the  •*  .\A  "  plots.  ,..,,_ 

•*  2000  lbs.  liape-cake  per  annum  for  the  first  6  years,  and  1000  lbs.  only,  each  year 
eince.  t+SUUlbs.  >uh'hate  Potass,  and  3^  cwts.  Superphosphate  of  Lime,  without 
Nitrate  of  Soda,  the  flr-t  year  ls52);  Nitrate  alone  each  year  since,  tj  SulpnaW 
Boda— 200  IbB.  per  annum  18^,  6.  and  7. 


232 


TALKS    OS    MANURES. 


ExrBBlHENTS     ON     TUB    GkoWTH    OF    BaRLEY,    TkAR    AFTER    YeAR,   ON 

TION8  OF  MaNLKE,    IIOOS 
TA3LB   II.— DRESSED 

[N.B.  The  double  vertical  llncB  show  that  there  was  a  change  in  the  descrip- 

TadU  /.,  and  foot-notes 


Habtebts. 


^5 

1852 

1853 

18M 

1855  1856 

1857 

1858 

1859  1860  1861 

1862  1863 

bashels. 

bush.  bush,   bos  bns 

bush.  bush. 

has  bns  bus  bus  bus  1 

1  O. 

27 '4 

25'^      a')       31     |13'» 

26 '8      21  Vb   IW-^  13'4  16Hi  16,V  22 '^1 

2  O. 

2SS 

SS-^      40^    3614 In^i 

:«'4      28^ 

l".t»8  l.-iv  2.5     i\\  :ii^ 

3  O 

26  ^i 

27Si      36V    :14^  16^ 

32          211-4 

15',  151^4  IS'a  l'.»?4  27H 

4  0. 

32  3i 

S5S      42       37;,  19?4 

3'J^      30  ig 

19V  I8.L4  29i',  25^  33 

Means 

88X      1 

30>g     SdV    :i4X  17 

32J£      26>i 

17J4  15*8  22?8  203£  287i 

1  A. 

SH% 

38^i   i   U^    44V  25 

38i»      31V 

153^  2C?i  30V'31V  42*i 

2  A. 

33)4 

40'8      <rf)'^    473^29>4 

56  !i      til^ 

Si\  43^8  55     i4S»,  61 5i 

3  A. 

m 

36  Si      50       41'^  28^ 

42 'i      34  U 

16^8  28      32V  :J5V  48H 

4  A. 

40»i 

36U  i  60's 

48-'g31,?i| 
46>4  28vl 

O'VJi      51V 

34^,  43V  51)8  47?,  551, 

Means 

384 

SSH  1  M^ 

48?i   1  424    25?i  35?i  431<  40'i  52)i 

1  AA. 

41V 

mi  i  MiH    48     36ii| 

40  V 

39^^    21'<<  2.^\  -iS     .MV  49 

2  A.\. 

43*i 

42'4   1  63 '4    50^^  Sli^l 

Wi  ., 

5«J'4    .T)',  4.SI4  .'■>5V  ■'■'1      'iOV 

3  AA. 

41  ?i 

41 '4      51'i    47':(  200^1 

49^,i| 

40'>i    20'„  :{(Mj  .-iO'B  3614  .M 

4  AA. 

45  >i 

4^JV      62'i   ;49?i3T?i 

64:'8 1 

56 '«    3o,V  46  S  55:'i  48:!4  59.V 
481^    88?6  369i  45?.  41  ?»  553ii 

Means 

43)£ 

42'i 

58V 

48?i  32H 

57^ 

1  AA8. 

1 

2  AAS. 

3  AAS. 

4  AAS. 

Means 

&)% 

1 

36?4' 

1 

1 

1  0. 

39% 

60  »i  148  V 

64H 

6;}»i    38  V  31V  56V,  41     151^ 

2  C. 

3(W 

36'8      60:-i    M'4  S-ig 

62', 

.'■>7?^    41      .-J^iV  56'a  45      55 

3  C. 

3.3  >^ 

35  Si      56",    48'i  32S 

60 'i 

.-■12        .-141^  a'iU  51',  .56     ,53 V 

4  C. 

38 

40'i   1  60  U    51,'i  35^ 

6214 

57>i    35      40V  5.J»8  45V 

54X 

Means 

36^i 

37'^   1  59V    50!^  35', 

62  U 

55       37  V 

36>8  54i/,  4i:!i 

539i 

1  N. 

[(257b){ 

|3»'« 

493i    60     2<<V 

47 's      37  V    2^1', 

27'h  381.4  .^5V51vI 

2  N. 

|37>i 

5:J'i    49^^  48 

58    1  1  43'8    2<i>.,  iltV  4i:s8  88^  5;iii] 

M. 

1  '321^'lS'i 

24V 

|25T^    19  V 

10^ 

2796  93 '„  28^ 

5  0. 

(3r,v)  1 

27V 

30V    3-2'«  19l8 

31'h 

2.V18     16',, 

10'„ 

28»i  n^  2*»V 

5  A. 

30  V 

40  Is 

51%    47'8  33'ii 

51^8 

48fi    33', 

39 

49^  46?8  51V 

eU 

29 

ifi^i 

354    37V15's 

34^8   '  264    174 

n\ 

les^  18>^  27>i 

1.^2 

25 'i 

iV'i 

83  V    361^4  15 's 

314      25  V    14?i 

121^ 

17  ?8  19      28*i 

7 

33 

364 

56'.'    50'S324 

51>4     55       40 

41  ?» 

545^J9»i59V 

(!)  Averaj^os  of  I  years,  4  years,  and  8 
last  10  years, 


year?. 

and  tutal  17 


(')  Averages  of  9  years, 
years.  (*)  AveragcB 


MANURE    FOR    BARLKT. 


233 


THB  SAME   Land,  wituoit   Manure,  and  with  dikfekknt  descrip- 

FlELI),    ROTUAMSTED,  ENGLAND. 
CX>RN  PEIl   ACKE  — bUriliel.-. 

tion,  or  quautity,  of  ^auurc,  at  the  period  indicated,  for  particolarB  of  which  see 
tbureto,  p.  £il.J 


Harvests. 

Average  Annual. 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867    1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

^ 

bash. 

26', 

bus 
18 
22.-* 
ti 

bn?h. 

194 
24 

bus  bush,  bus  bus  'bu» 
17-.    ir.4    15',  i:J'^  16>4 
24s     18'9     W4  18     i2:J', 
17        144    18S  16^4  l'.»S 

20,',  17H  ;224  mx  25 

bushcls.  bush. 
22-^8     17M 
27',     23 '4 
247,     20', 
80!4    247i 

bushels- ' 
20 

257^         1 
2i% 

27'/, 

1  0. 

2  0. 
30. 
4  0. 

28  »i    2\M 

20  a. 

197,    16;^   jlSS  16^4  21', 

26?6     214 

237i 

Means 

Kii    29', 
68'4    48^ 
43  ii    :«•„ 
55s    46>i 

274 
50  Vj, 

30?i!  20S    27',  27»J:}6S 
44     ,  37  s    48     41\.  4r,'„ 
33       25       34'.,  30'.  :«', 
4:JT,    34  ;4  |49,4  :18    Ms 

334    31  4' 

45  S     48  ^i 

a-)     a-. 

464  ,  464' 

32X 
47 
35 
4(i4 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 

4  A. 

494   >9!(f 

384 

294 
5*1', 
293i 
50'i 

877-.|  29?i    397i 

29V  '27       32', 
44'.,    -14       4S1.J 

4>      |45'.    4'.t', 

344J41)tf; 

294  39'., 
4tii.  ■46'., 
.32S30', 
44;^  46     1 

404  ]  404 

404 

Means 

41=!£    33>i 
K\    47', 
44S   ai4 
66?,-    48'. 

394     344 

4S',     4!tS 
;         38S     36'. 
1         497,     497i 

37 
49"^ 
37 'i 
4'.17i 

1  AA. 

2  AA. 

3  AA. 

4  AA. 

4a%    414 

40'. 

38 

36       41      38S  42 

1         444    4Z% 

43  ?i 

Means 

444    3A7i 

S47i    47^ 
50      ,41 
594   ^504 

371^ 
51'.' 
41', 
50»£ 

32  V 
44 

39',. 

45 '4 

29",    34',  3-)     48',' 
44 'i    49'a  443i£  4i)V 
3(i4'    40'^  42'4'  484 
46S    51\  474j-48',| 

,       r374 :367i 

;,.i49'4  474 

(>     434    42 
t51?i  ;  48?^ 

37    -) 
50     J 

1  AAS. 

2  AAS. 

3  AAS. 

4  AAS. 

62       43'i 

45'.- 

404 

w, 

4r.>^; 

38'. 
42s  1 

3!>'.' 

444  42;,;'48?4 

454  1  43?.i 

44./, 

Means 

484    45 
51  »i    4fi4 
49',    48ii 
68      j484 

45'i 
47 '4 
43'. 
48s 

37 
354 
35'. 
364 

42'i41'4  44 
48 '4  41'..  J  Pi 
43S  «'»  45S 
52',  *i?i  474 

47     1  43  S' 
47'i    45?.i 
44     ,  43 '4 
477.' :  474 

45  >< 
464 
43  S 

47?,i 

1  C. 

2  C. 
3C. 
4C. 

60?^ 

46  U' 

25-^ 

60>i 

254 
254 

62 

47 

46  •< 

41'.''  35'8    46S  41^ 

44  S 

43'. 
457, 

22 ', 

20 

444 

18»i 
244 

544 

46?*'    45 

45% 

Means 

37 

39 'i 

19'^ 
23 

48-4 

21 
194 

52% 

»14- 
41 

19 

22V, 

43'- 

16V 

17 '4 

53',' 

33    1  2o><r   a') 4  :u% 
316%    2.5S-    38s  404 

20"^    U'i    16S  16'e 
I'.tv    15      |-23^«  ll".^ 
3418    36','    4!l',  41?i 

16'.'    15 '4'    14','  15 '4- 
19\    157i    15'i  15', 

45*^'  43  S'    46'i47J,r 

~137S'    374 
'  'H24'    407^ 

(S'  (22  Vs    204- 

>*)  (244     214 

434    44  7i 

25        18'^ 
23Ji     20 

45        51 7< 

4i;i^'> 

21  ,V)   (S)' 
22?i)   (*) 
447.' 

82 
21 7i 

484 

1  N. 
2N. 

M. 

5  0. 
5  A. 

u« 

7 

(1853-"61\  last  10  vears.  and  total 
0/  9  years  (1S>J-"61),  last  10  years, 


19  yoars. 
and  total 


(3)  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'61), 
19  years. 


234 


Talks  on  manubbs. 


EXITSRIIIENTS   on  TUB  GbOWTU  OF   BaSLEV,   YEAR   AFTEK  TEAR,  ON  THB 

Manure.    Uooa 

TABLK  ni.— WBIOHT  PKB 

(N.B.  The  double  vertical  lines  show  that  there  was  a  cbaD{;e  in  the  description, 

7'(iUf  I.,  and  foot  notes, 


IIAKTKSTS. 

1 

1SQ3 

1853  I  1854 

1855 

1806    1857 

1868 

1869  1860 

llih    lh«. 

1881  1862' 1863 

Ibl*    11.1.     lbs. 

vt.6 

«8 

-     ,'rl  5 

MO  ;.;i.O  M.8 

1  o. 

JO. 
8  0. 
4  O. 

lbs. 
6i.l 

51.5 

51.4 

sa.o 

51. 'J 
58.1 

It.-. 

lU- 

H.«  '    lf». 

n.-. 

5t.a 
5:).6 

Mauia 

518 

63.0 

.     H 

52.8 

60.8  60.7  r>3.1  61.5  M.3 

1  A. 

3  A. 
8  A. 

4  A. 

50.7 
60.5 
50.9 
51.4 

53.4 

'.» 

MO 

.'. :  8 

1  0 

.  0 

47.5  60.8  51.5  49.4  53.6 
61.0  61.0  5.t..'.  53.5  V..3 
4:..'.  50.8  51.6  r,0.5  r4.3 
51.0  51.1  51.0  M.0  56.5 

Mmuis 

50.9 

6i7 

'    .M.9  54.9 

.  .  ..i  -  .'O.O  M.9 

:  6i.:i  at.'.  51.4  5.V7 

:  .'.  50.4  51.5  51.5  61.5 

'5  61.0  53.5  Jrt.O  56.4 

r  I  5(t.9  53.0  53.6  65.1 

1  AA. 
S  AA. 
8  AA. 
4  AA. 

49.1 

■J'J.6 
60.6 
5i).6 

61..3 
51.7 
5I..1 
51.1 

51.4 

58.6 

Mouis 

50.0 



I  AAS. 

8  AAS. 
8  AAS. 
4  AAS. 

1 

Means 

1 

1 

M2 

! 

1  C. 
8  C. 

3  C. 

4  C. 

51.7 
51.8 
51.3 
51.4 

61.3 
51.6 
51..-) 
50.4 

5:'> 

50.2  46.(1 

•r.".  ^ 

r.2.0 

i  0 
61.6 

630  MO  M.5  66.s{ 
61.5  Ml  .V..3  56.4' 
51. s  M5  .'i3.5  5»i.8 
M.l  M.l  MO  66.7 1 

Menns 

51.0 

51.2 

.'.1.3 
.49.7 

51.8 
62.3 

50.3 
60.9 

61.6 

.v>.8 

63.8 

63.8 

51.6  54.0  M.3I56.6] 

1  N. 

SN. 

M. 

5  0. 
5  A. 

*u 

7 

f  (51.7)  1 

(51.0)  1 
61.0 

62.0 
58.0 

68.8 

53.3  '■  .V2.n  50  0 
5.1.1    50.1  48.1 

1    • 
Rll 

5.3.3    : 

68.8    52.5  .'O." 
63.6    6i.r,  5').0 

6.3.9    63.9  47.1 

539 

5.-1.01 

■  R 
I 

52.3 
63.3 

54.8 

6.1.5 
MO 

.W6 
.-40 
51.0 

53.1 
58.1 

64.5 

48.0 
4S.5 

40.5 
51  0 
51.0 

48.5 
47.5 

58.5 

610  52  0  51.5  58.4 
61  1  51  »  51.3  53.9 
1         ' 
51  0  .^3  8  52  8  5.3.8 
MO  .13  3  .M.5  .54.1 

51.2  5i.O  52.(1  55.6, 

1 

61.3  580  51.8  M.O, 

51.0  53.0  53.0  54.1 

53.1  54.8  64.8  BT» 

0)  Averages  of  4  years. 


4  yenrs.  and  R  years, 
last  10  year?,  and 


(^)  Averages 
total  17  year*.         (*) 


of  9  years 
Averages 


XIANTKi;    FoU    ItAULKY. 


235 


siMB  Land,  witiioit  Mantke,  and  with  i>iffekrnt  descriptions  o» 

FlKl^U,    KOTUAMsTHD. 
BUnUKL  or   UKI(!>ltBU  COKN  -Ibs. 

or  qaanllty,  <>f  Manure,  at  the   p.  r;  mi  inaicifu.  for  partlculATfl  of  which  Be« 
thereto,  p.  «U.] 


18M  1865  19M  IM7    1968 

III 


1869     1870 


Atkraob  Amuval. 


1871      -1- 


55: 
5«.  ~ 

57.J  .<4.U 


ln«.  Ih^ 


P.I 


S;^3    £!j«?|  Kg* 


JiJi  —i.J      M.u  [ 

88.7  51.1  r<3  3  53  1  55. J      :.l  D 

55.4  518  riil.'.t  51.8  53.3 

57.0  '9:  54.4  Ml  54  6 

56.1  .M  ;  5J.1I.M.9  M8 
57.6  53  5  .>4.T  54.3  55.0 

a«.6  53.7  53  0  5i.9  516      56.4  i    66.1  i    55.8 


1)>^.    I     Iba.  Iba.        lbs. 

'  51.fi  53.1  .'A.3 

M.O  54.4  5a  a 

•   ,,         51.8  513  KiO 

^■6  54.3  54.6  53.4 


55.5  |l 

55.6  II 


fiSO    51. 1    53.0 


61.2  53.0  .'>2,1 

r  1  N  .',.'.  1  53.5 

f  I  •■  MI  .V.'.S 

f ;;  i  .v.."  .'AG 

61.6  &1.5  153.1 


55.*.  '■•  ■   '-'■'   ■  ■  '  ■■'  - 
57 -J  ■ 

56..-. 

5i.6  J>   t    >-'.  i    .11  ri  Hi  II 

66.7  53.5  53  3  53.3  55.1 

156.1  5l.i  51  8  53.5  154  3 

57.a  5i.4  .V.61Vi.I  '36.9 

57.3  5t.H  .V2..')  .S3  0  .VS.5 

|57.0  5i.l  55.3  54.1  ,56.3 


M  1 


.M  .t 
5<..3 


55.3 

M.8 
57.4 
56.6 
57.8 


56  9  5.J.6  51.S  .wg    55.5  I    56.7 


57.1  .'»3  8  55.1  -,J.4  .Vi.8 

67  0  51.:i  .-)-,. 7  55.0  56.1 

57.3  r^.i  .V...3  .-.1.7  .5.5.8 

57.8  53..>  53.0  5J.S  55.4 


55.8 

.V>.0 
57.4 
55. 'J 
57.8 

56.5 


55.2 


r.T2  .'■)2.0 

.'..-.  J  .Vi.3 

.V,  s  52.3 

.v..  8  :.3.4 


61.0    &1.6    52.8 


r.n 


Ml 


57.1  5 {.5  5-..4  M.7|  53.9 

56.0  54.1  52.0  .",2.9  52  8 

56.5  51.8  52.8  52.7  55  5 

I 

56.3  .M.J  5}.0  .\3  9  5J.0 

57.6  51.5  .\3.4  .'>»  0  5ti.4 
57.5  M.1  54.8  53.2  57.5 

I  i 

56.0  SS.-J  51.3  52  0  53.5 

55.8  53.9  j51 .8  52.5  53.8 

67.4  54.4 '54.9  54.S  57.1 


n858-'61).  laet  10  years,  and  U  tal 
Of  9  jetn  (1853-'61).  laut  10  years, 


.'.6.7 

57.5 

57.1 

57.S 

57.1 

57.6 

5T.4 

58.0 

57.1 

57.7 

51.3 

5.5.6 

54.8 

55.8 

54.0 

5.5.3 

55.6 

55.9 

57.5 

57  3 

52.8 

54.0 

52.9 

54.6 

564 

57.1 

546 
55.6 
6.J.8 
55.4 


54.9 


5.'}.9  W.6  51.3 

,|v  J  55. 1  56.7  55.9 

^  •'■'  54.4  5.5.5  55.0 

54.9  56.8  ;.55.8. 

54.6  55.9  55.2 


{') 


56.3  1 1 
56.4 
5«;.3  I 

56.4  I 


se.4 


51.7  5.5.8  .\3.a 

61.7  .%.0  5.3.9 

51.7  55.«  5J.7 

51.4  55.9  M.6 

51.6  55.9  .53.8 


M.f. 
51.6 

.55.0 
a5.1 
55,5 

.55.4 
54.9 

56.6 


«)J.51.6    53.7  1.52.7  »,^ 
'  '(51.1    54.2  ,52.7  r  ' 


1  O. 

2  O. 

3  O. 

4  O. 

Meftiu 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 

,4A. 

I  Meana 

I  AA. 
I  2  AA. 

I  3  AA. 

4  AA. 

'  Metna 

I I  AAa 

I  S  AAS. 
I  3  AAS. 
I  4  AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 

2  C. 

3  C. 

4  C. 

Means 

1  N. 

2  N. 


O  r.1.8 

(*)  (.52.0 
51.9 

51.5 
51.6 

53.6 


54.2  .5.3.2)  (»)l  M. 
.54.8  53.4;  («)|.  5  o. 
55.7    53.8  ;  5  A. 


53.5  52.5 

53.6  .52.6 

56.0    54.3 


1 9  T  cirg.  (3 1  ATcrages  of  7  years  (1855-'61). 

and  total  19  years. 


236 


TALKS    Oy    MANHRKS. 


EXPRKIMENTS  ON  THE  GROWTU    OF  BaKLKY,  TeAB  AFTKB  TeAB,  ON   THB 

Manibk.     Hoos 

TABLE    IT. — OFrAL 

[N.IV  The  double  vertical  lines  ebow  that  there  was  a  chaogc  in  the  description, 

TaUe  /.,  and  foot-notes 


HARTKSTS. 

1 

1 

1 

1853 

1853 

1S54 

1856  1856 

1857     1868 

1R69  1860  1861  1862  1868 

Iba. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs.  lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs.  IbsJibs.  lbs.  lbs. 

1.  o. 

1(*4 

225 

K4 

144    131 

93 

86 

110     78     88      frt  1    49 

2    O 

lUO 

101 

101 

ti9      5H 

1U6 

1(0 

ISlt     84     78    114     68 

3.  O. 

183 

151 

M 

76  i  lau 

61 

96 

K->     78     88      7.1  ,    64 

4.  O. 

i;«i 

160 

106 

Mj    88 

53 

108 

ItiO     74     68    117  [    57 

Means 

146 

159 

89 

96  1102 

78    1    96 

129     78 

78     92     66 1 

1.  A. 

SIS 

S-'iS 

COl 

138   219 

lis 

98 

184    150 

170    2(>9 

110 

a.  A. 

260 

214 

l.-« 

181    121 

88 

114 

274    1.VJ    13(1    191 

»!i 

3.   A. 

2.-.3 

3:i6 

V.fl 

177    180 

91 

96 

IT.'.    11.'.    109    26:i 

106 

4.  A. 

273 
251 

274 

138 

142    125 

70 

117 

253    150    110    150 

81 

Means 

277 

17? 

160    161 

91 

.106 

232    143 1  130    220    101 

1.  A  A. 

2f)9 

303 

326 

SOI    310 

135 

88 

21.'>    109    \n    296    110 

2.  A  A. 

315 

251 

:r» 

181    2:« 

l.i3 

134 

32()    118    190    1.^1    143 

3.  A  A. 

318 

236 

S-M 

213    2:10 

108 

118 

21..-.    123    l.W    .164      95 

4.  AA. 

816 

:»1 

273 

150    170 

183 

113 

285    141 

179    191      66 

Means 

2»l 

273 

316 

187,252 

140 

121 

•271    123 

170    2-J6    103 

1  A  AS. 

2  A  AS. 

8  AAS 

4  A.\S. 

Means 

1 

1  C. 

^68 

178 

219 

173 

135      1  ia3 

225    120  '  IM  '  IM 

85 

2  C. 

lOl 

•r.r, 

2.)S 

195    IfJl 

M'J       1  1 18 

171    156    l,-.i)    128 

109 

3  0. 

l'.« 

296 

218 

is!     IS') 

i.m;  I      i(»5 

ZV\    II.-.    204    190 

71 

4  ('. 

144 

277 

227 

222 

2a-> 

iiisi,    ir, 

3.-«    Vii    204  ,  174 

88 

M.ans 

1(JT 

3(M 

233 

S05 

183 

\m 

120 

246    136  '  178  1 161 

1  N 

283 

109 

12H 

215 

99 

119 

20.-.    lie.    22-.    245 

120 

2  N. 

228 

28G 

224 

i;t3 

151  1 

110 

2:^    17J    190    216 

114 

M. 

1 

31! 

91 

W) 

RJ 

K,     75     78    108 

40 

5  I). 

(173)1 

CS 

113 

ra 

90 

101 

71 

110      73      73    103 

41 

5  A. 

173 

210 

170 

12li 

151 

63 

151 

168    19:1    188    210 

1                  1 

81 

,  (  1 

130 

2(10 

144 

110  ir.3 

78 

84 

121  i    88     73     75 

51 

fi-la 

118 

IGl 

119 

73    125 

105 

81 

127     95;    67:194 

1        1 

65 

7 

101 

260 

m 

109 

141 

1»1 

191 

260    147   190  1208 

66 

(')  Avcratres  of  4  years,  4  j-e.-ir".  and  8  v:irs.  (')  Avrragps  o'  0  years 

lacit  10  years,  and  total  17  years.    (';  Averages 


MANUKK    Koli    MAKI  KV. 


2.'?: 


BASn   LaNI>,  WITHOIT    >f\MUK,   AND  WITH  DIKKEKKNT  nKSCUIITIONS  OP 

Field,  Rotuamsteu. 

COR!«  PER  ACKE      lbs. 

or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  the  poriixi  indicated,  for  particulars  tif  which,  see 
thereto,  p.  231.] 


IlABTE8Ta. 

Atkbaok  Akncau 

1 

1864 

1866  1866 

I    1 
1867  1868  181)9  1870  1871; 

i 

||? 

1 

1 
lbs.  IbB. 

11= 

lbs. 

Ibe.  Iba. 

lbs.  Mm. 

lb«. 

Ibo. 

lbs. 

IbH. 

4S  : 

47  41 

im  21 

+«  ,  81  48 

120 

4H 

&4 

1  0. 

69 

88 

St 

53   2t 

S:>     18  m 

>>6 

52 

74 

s  o. 

48 

^ 

SK 

04  ;  j; 

70  !  18 

85 

!    101 

46 

74 

3  O. 

41 

as 

55 

60  1  -^5 

69 

26 

48, 

1    104 

53 

78 

4  O. 

48  i 

38 

89 

67  1  25 
115  j  4'.l 

68 
13!» 

S3  41  1 
2:{  115 

1    105 

50 

78 

Mcana 

99  1 

58  1  94 

174 

1(17 

141 

1  A. 

C3 

81  !  M 

76  3rt 

113 

26  1^0 

172 

94 

133 

2  A. 

83 

51  106 

(M   31 

95 

24  89 

1    173 

95 

134 

3  A. 

110 

CO  ,  li-l 

71   50 

21 

27  146 

1    1(15 

78 

122 

4  A. 

89  1 

68  89 

89 ; 

46 

92 

6t 

25  132 

3:5  133 

171 

94 

123 

Means 

no  1 

64  148 

no 

ei6 

111 

16J 

1  AA. 

50 

113  111 

6'j  1  m 

Ki 

2»  ItW 

220 

95 

153 

2  AA. 

76  1 

48  laj 

106  r.9 

111 

s   ):;■; 

214 

113 

164 

3  AA. 

46 

76  ,133 

119  |43 

7?< 

80  90 

2(:8 

h7 

148 

4  AA. 

71  1 

75  ,l»i 

101   48 

86 

31  131 

1    215 

102 

159 

Meana 

»t  1 

56  98 

85 

4'J 

121 

33  94 

1   f  «> 

74 

771 
75  ,,. 

89j 

1  A  AS. 

ra 

86  96 

or, 

(.4 

fiO 

23  151 

(■>■  g 

75 

2  A  AS. 

70 

50  141 

79 

.•-,9 

i:j<i 

Si»  i:.0 

84 

3  AAS. 

93 

70  1  80 

93 

46 

125 

SO 

IC8 

1   I  84 

93 

4  AAS. 

•n 

65  :ioi 

81  50 

111  1  28 

!    81 

82 

8', 

1  Means 

78 

83  104 

lOfl  43 

r,9  1  25 

78 

175 

83 

129 

1  C. 

92 

44   M) 

h^  6J 

111 

24  '  KS 

1'.3 

84 

138 

;  2  C. 

90 

66  'M 

91   3"! 

'.11 

37  141 

102 

01 

142 

'  8  c;. 

133 

69  128 

Ti     42 

^67 

28 

124 
108 
90 

208 
192 

89 
87 

149 
139 

4  C. 

96 

G6  104 

90  1  47 

85 

28 

Means 

74 

98  121 

111)  i  61 

l.V)  ,  33 

,r».n73 
/^■(199 

112 

149  t  ^  ' 

IN. 

95 

84  104 

88  35 

98 

3:j 

171 

104 

2  N. 

58 

60  '  44 

56  26 

61 

25 

58 

P)  (77 

64 

60)  (') 

M. 

78 

35  48 

r*i   ,  20 

75 

2.J 

41 

(*)     (81 

61 

72)  (*) 

5  0. 

91 

94  5.} 

74  j  33 

63 

30 

114 

1    KiO 

87 

124 

5  A. 

51 

45  1  72 

103 

27 

71 

26 

50 

117 

57 

87 

2)« 

54 

47  ,  51 

83 

21 

57 

23 

41 

\         107 

64 

85 

117 

56  118 

111 

48 

100  26 

171 

156 

105 

va 

7 

(1853-611,  lact  10  ynars.  and  total  19  ye.ir?.        (')  .\vrrage8  of  7  years  n855-'f.:), 
of  y  years  Uti53-'01),  last  10  years,  and  total  10  years. 


238 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXFBSIMBNTS  ON  THE  GBOWTH  OF    BaRLEY,   YeAH    AFTER  TeAK,  ON  THE 

Manure.     Hoos 

TABLE    v.— 8TRAW 

N.B.  The  doable  vertical  lines  show  that  there  was  a  chan;;e  in  the  descrip- 

T(U)U  /.,  and  footnotes 


IIabtbbts. 

1 

18S2 

1853 

1854 

1855  1856 

1867 

1858   1859 

1860  1861 

1862 

1863 

1  0. 

2  O. 
8  O. 
4  0. 

CwU. 
ICM 
16;^ 
Itl"^ 
19Ji 

n«4 

cwts. 
18 

17 '« 
20  !4 

18^4 

cwts 
2P*' 
2:^4 
20'. 
2:j', 

22'.' 

cwt  cwt 

17*.    sv 

17  V    8V 
17V    9'. 

18  1  9', 

17*i    9 

cwts. 
12*£ 

15H 
45     1 

174! 

cwts.   cwt 
10',     9'. 
14',    12'* 
I214      !»'< 
16>i    12Kc 

cwt  cwt  cwt  cwt 
7V  11       9»4  1134 
8',  13  V  12';  15  V 
H'i  IIV  10',  13\ 
9V  IS?*  13^  15»4 

Means 

15  V 

13',^    10», 

8*;  12X  IIV  1374 

11',  l!t»;  20»4  21V 
2.->V  29»i  32>,  81 
I6V  21  »4  2:JV26V 
36*,  :»'4  31|^;32 

20'4  25V  26>4  28'; 

13'i22     21><25V 
21',  31 »;  31 'i  32  V 
!«',  2.J'.  •iA\  27'; 
29      :«',  .a's  MM 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 

4  A. 

227i 
26 
23  »i 

25  V 
25'. 
26^ 

.■JO'4' 

40 'i 
40V 
36?.- 

il'.-  17 'i 
29',  21V 
27V  17', 
31      21  \ 

20'4 
21=«i 

2754 

15V    11  ■« 
2H>;    21'. 
17',    jUJ.., 
2l»?i    27 '4 

Means 

35^ 

K\ 
28', 
26', 
28', 

asti 

28     19V 

23)^ 

22V    19Ki 

1  A  A. 

2  A  A 

3  AA. 

4  AA. 

26'» 
28',- 
27'4 
31 », 

37 'i 
44  >i 
37', 
49 

32'. 
3SS 
3t 
:»', 

21V'  2;j'4 
31*.    32', 
2<ii,    26 
:«     ;  36>4 

:!•<,■  14  V 

:t2»,    26  , 
22  ■,     Ki'. 
.•<5'i   j.«)^ 

Means 

a7>tf 

23  ?i 

48  U 

36^ 

38Jil  29H 

27V  i21?4|21«4  27ri27s,  30 

1  AAS. 

2  AAS. 
S  AAS. 
4  AAS. 

' 

Means 

1 

1 

1  C. 
3  C. 

3  C. 

4  C. 

24  S 
23^ 
21  ?< 

26  7i 
25^i 

27V 
26 '4 

4314 
44', 
4114 
42', 

4-2 'i 

30 'i 
36',- 

37  », 

28    1  33>i 
31V    33  \ 

26 >^  m\ 

30  V    3:]!i 

.30»£    26',  17',  27'i 
33';    »\  20s,  «', 
.30;;    251,  201bI:«>4 
.35       2<.tV  2214  .31 

26 

27V 
23?; 
287, 

28H 

30V 
29?4 
:«?i 

Means 

2:J14 

3<>V 

5n~ 
3:j«4 

15>4 
14  \ 
31 

18  V 
16?i 

27V 

28?4j  S2«i 

32*4    27»i 

20',':» 

36  V  29% 

1  N. 

2  N. 

M. 

5  O. 

5  A. 

7 

((15..)] 

(2.Vi)  1 
25',- 

174 
14  S' 

18V 

2:iS,' 
25'. 

15?i 

16V 
15'i 

22 ':f 

3:J?i 
38  U 

..I 

22  V 

20?; 

37«4 

19S'  24*4 
28Ji    32    1 

lOS    lO'i 
10'.    13'4 
225!i    27*i 

oh'  16'i 

9Vj  14^ 

19?i    23  S 

20V    IS'* 
23  J4    21 '4 

|12='4    10', 
12  V    10 'v 
|28>,    2li', 

12        11 V 

1114   10 
81V    28  V 

16?4 

18 ». 

7V 
6', 
25-^ 

7V 
7?i 

25  V 

27^4 
29S 

15',' 

\^\ 

31', 

9'; 
10 

•31  >4 

24  V 

^^\ 

144 

31  i. 

10', 
lis 

34  V 

.30V 

29?4 

19V 
15V 
•M 

134 

14,V 

•33V 

(')  Averat^es  of  4  years,  4  years,  and  8  years, 
last  10  years,  and 


(')  Averages  of  9  years 
total  17  yevs.       (*)  Averages 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY. 


2^9 


SAMT!  Land,  withoit  Manure,  \su  with  inrrEUENT  desckiptions  of 
Field,  Kotuamsted. 

(and   CHAFF)  PER  ACRE      C\vt"i. 

tion,  or  quantity,  of  Manure,  at  the  period  indicated,  for  particulars  of  which  see 
thereto,  p.  .231.] 


Harvksts. 


1864  1866  1966 


ISffT 


1868 


18G91870 


1871 


Atkbaob  Ahncai^ 


cwta.  cwt  cwt« 

n\  e\    9'i 

IJ'.  9',    12  S 

13'.  9U.    lO", 

1C»4  10       12', 


14S  I  9V    lUi    llSi     9%  ^UH    f}%  laS 


cwt  cwtB.  cwt  cwt  cwt 
lOSi'  11%   ill       6\  11 
121,      9\    10',    8      121^* 
10',,    8».    11       Svs,  ll", 
J2       lOH    12',    9S  14 


e2 


cwta.  icwts. 
13>i  101^ 
14'.  I  11^ 
13',  lO^ii 
1«%     12S 


aO'.  13    I  15S 

32",  8i».i  as*, 

19)t  16       16\ 

W,  28\   r.'. 


86=Si  18.VJ  21 »«    2-J 

23  V  16    !  1"'* 

33  .  23    !  2s'. 

»i',  17     ■   18-, 

87",  24',    2S'h 


'iT",!    12k     18V  12''j  2:J' 


14,V 

19^ 
27'. 
21 'i 

28J, 


cwta. 
11 V 
13'. 
12>* 


llJi     12Tt 


17'. 
27', 
1»\ 
28 


18>4 
27'. 

28>» 


80>,    20V    23  V 


26V  22'.  20V 

.%3',  2:<V  30V 

30V  20V  2.5 

40i£  25',  2914 


17'. 

|14S 

.■«)  , 

•■•1"« 

*". 

'  "i  I 

'^'. 

!25-. 

24V 

19S 

18' 

1 1''>V 

*)', 

a-'^v 

23'.    22 
v8V    26V 


82V    22'i    26'.    24'.    22 V 


26V 

21V 

24V 

25V 

19V 

31V 

21V 

iM'i 

26'.  1 

19  S 

31 

22 

24'. 

22  V 

10^' 

34V 

22 

27  V 

MV 

21V 

2r.   17-    005^1 


2av  20ii  29v! 


2!?V  17  29\ 
37-.  2(n.  .3»;v 
30 V  20  1  31 'g 
42|,20'4  3» 

33V  19V  33»i 


27  n^  27' it 
33',  17V  27V' 
30V  18V  30 Vi 
35'.  20'.  32    ; 


ai4 

23V 

23V 

24 

81V 
25  V 
34V 

»v 

29'. 

22':, 

30'. 

22  V 
30', 
24 

,32V 

» 

25»i 

i27'4 

(') 

f21V 

2;»v 

24V 
31 

21V 
«»V 
26  V 
32 

21  Vl 
1  31>s  J 

26  V 

27V 

27 

29'.  a4V 

30'.  26 

28',  25'. 

31V  27V 


26'i 
28V 

27  V 
29V 


31       21V 


24V    18>, 

r.^  21;, 


2oV    24V|  19V    31V  18'4  29Vj 

24     13V' 29V ' 
27  V 1 19  V  31'/,, 


SOV     253!£  I  28 


21V 
23J. 

12'i 


13'  9'i 

14'I  lOvl  lOV 

33',  24',  28 

13V  i  S\\  Wi 

13V  8Ji|    9'/4 


21 VI  18  V 

,2ix  nv 

12  10  V 

10  V I  8", 

22V  20', 

9'-.'  10  V 

10  V  10  V 


,.j23V     22>/,     22ii  I  ,,. 

^  '  i  27':      a4ii    I  2fi^i  I  ^  ' 


11 V'  8V  14V 
15' i    4',  13  ■/ 
36'.  21V  2^»V 
I 
9V    7J£  13 
lOV ;  7J,  13V 


I  27V  24!i 

■»)  (ll'i  12S£ 

(*)  (13  V  11%' 

27  V  28 '^ 


22V  I 
26V  t' 

12'.0  (») 
12V)  (^) 


lOV 

IIV 


12V 
12V 


37V   25V'  31)^  '27vl  24y   2851i  W%  37^1  26Ji     29^  I  28«4 


1  O. 

2  O. 

3  O. 

4  O. 

Means 

1  A. 

2  A. 

3  A. 

4  A. 

Means 

1  A.\. 

2  AA. 

3  AA. 

4  AA. 

Means 

1  A  AS. 

2  AAS. 

3  AAS. 

4  AAS. 

Means 

1  C. 

2  C. 

3  C. 

4  C. 

Means 

1  N. 

2  N. 

M. 

5  O. 
5  A. 

u« 

7 


OR53-f.ln  last  10 
Of  9  years  (1853- 


year».  and  total  19  years. 
61 »,  last  10  years,  and  total 


ih  Averages  of  7  years  (1855-'61), 
19  years. 


240  TALKS    ON    MANUKKS. 

The  produce  of  barley  the  first  season  (1852),  was,  per  acre : 

On  the  uninanurcd  plot 271  busbele 

With  6Upi.Tph()Si)haie  (if  lime 2^|  " 

"     potash,  soda,  and  mnffnesia :.>6}  " 

"         "          "                 "         and  superphosphate 32*  " 

"     14  tons  barn-yard  manure Sa  " 

"     200  Ihs.  ammonia-salts  alone 3(5J  " 

"          "                       "         and  superphosphate :;8i  '• 

"          "                       "         and  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia  30  " 
"          "                      "        and  superphosphate,      potash, 

soda,  and  magnesia 40 J  " 

"     400  lbs.  ammonia-salts  alone 44i  " 

The  200  lbs.  of  ammonia-salts  contain  50  lbs.  of  ammonia:=41 
lbs.  nitrogen. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  50  lbs.  of  ammonia  alone,  on  plot  la. 
gives  an  increase  of  nearly  10  bu.'^bcls  per  acre,  or  to  be  more  accu- 
rate, it  gives  an  inerea.so  over  the  nnmantircd  plot  of  503  Ib.s.  of 
grain,  and  32!)  lbs.  of  straw ,  while  double  the  quantity  of  ammonia 
on  plot  la.a.,  gives  an  increase  of  17^  bushels  per  acre — or  an  in- 
crease of  901  lbs.  of  grain,  and  1,144  lbs.  of  straw. 

"Put  that  fact  in  separate  lines,  side  by  side,"  said  the  Deacon, 
"  so  that  we  can  see  it." 

Total 
Grain        Straw     Produce. 

50  lbs.  of  ammonia  gives  an  increase  of 503  lbs.     704  lbs.  1207  Ibe. 

100    "     "        "             "       "        "        "    ....  l»01    "     1144    "     2045    " 
The  first  50  lbs.  of  ammonia  gives  an  in- 
crease of ..    ..  503    "       704    "     1207    " 

The  second  50  Ibe.  of  ammonia  gives  an  in- 
crease of 398    "      540    "       738    " 

"  That  shows,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  a  dressing  of  50  lbs.  per 
acre  pays  better  than  a  dressing  of  100  lbs.  per  acre.  I  wish  Mr. 
Lawes  had  sown  75  lbs.  on  one  plot." 

I  wish  so,  too,  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  our  climate.  50 
lbs.  of  .available  ammonia  per  acre  is  all  that  it  will  usu.ally  be 
profitable  to  apply  per  acre  to  the  barley  crop.  It  is  equal  to  a 
dressing  of  500  lbs.  guaranteed  Peruvian  guano,  or  275  lbs.  nitrate 
of  soda. — "  Or  to  how  much  manure  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

To  about  5  tons  of  average  stable-manure,  or  say  three  tons  of 
good,  well-rotted  manure  from  grain-fed  animals. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  Mr.  Lawes  put  on  14  tons  of  yard 
manure  per  acre,  and  the  yield  of  barley  was  not  as  much  as  from 
the  50  lbs.  of  ammonia  alone.     How  do  you  account  for  that?" 

Simply  because  the  ammonia  in  the  manure  is  not  ammonia.  It 
is  what  the  chemists  used  to  call  "  potential  ammonia."  A  good 
deal  of  it  is  in  tlie  form  of  undigested  straw  and  bay.  The  nitro- 
genous matter  of  the  food  wliich  has  been  digested  by  the  animal 


MANUKB    von    BAULKY.  2i\ 

and  thrown  otT  in  the  liquid  excrements,  is  in  such  a  form  tliat  it 
will  readily  firment  and  produce  ammonia,  while  the  nitrogenous 
matter  in  the  undigested  food  and  in  the  straw  used  for  bedding, 
decomposes  slowly  even  under  the  most  fatorable  conditions;  and 
if  buried  while  fresh  in  a  chiy  soil,  it  probably  would  not  all  de- 
compose in  many  years.     But  we  will  not  discuss  this  at  present. 

"  The  superphosphate  does  not  8eem  to  have  done  much  good," 
saiil  the  Deacon  ;  "  3i  cwt.  per  acre  gives  an  increase  of  less  than 
two  bushels  per  acre.    And  I  suppose  it  was  good  superpliosphate." 

There  need  be  no  doubt  on  that  point.  Better  superphosphate 
of  lime  cannot  be  made.  But  you  must  recollect  that  this  is  pure 
superphosphate  made  from  burnt  boues.  It  contains  no  ammonia 
or  organic  matter.  Commercial  superphosphates  contain  more  or 
less  ammonia,  and  had  they  been  used  in  these  experiments,  they 
would  have  shown  a  better  result  than  the  pure  article.  They 
would  have  done  good  in  proportion  to  the  available  nitrogen  they 
contained  If  these  experiments  prove  anything,  they  clearly  indi- 
cate that  superphosphate  alone  is  a  very  poor  manure  for  either 
wheat  or  barley. 

The  second  year,  the  unmanured  plot  gave  2.5f  bushels  per  acre. 
Potash,  soda,  and  magnesia,  (or  wliat  the  Deacon  calls  "ashes,") 
27J  bushels;  superphosj)hale  ;33V,  and  "ashes"  and  superphos- 
phate, ncarlj'  36  bushels  per  acre. 

50  lbs.  of  ammonia,  alone,  gives  nearly  39  bushels,  and  ammonia 
and  superphosphate  togetlier,  40  bushels. 

The  supcrphospliatc  and  "  ashes  "  give  a  better  account  of  them- 
selves this  year ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  the  ammonia  alone,  gives 
almost  as  good  a  crop  as  the  ammonia  and  superphosphate,  and  a 
better  crop  than  the  ammonia  and  "  ashes,"  or  the  ammonia,  super- 
phosphate, and  ashes,  together. 

The  14  tons  farm-yard  manure  gives  over  36  bushels  per  acre. 
This  plot  has  now  had  28  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  yet  the  50  lbs. 
of  ammonia  alone,  still  gives  a  better  yield  than  this  heavy  dress- 
ing of  manure. 

The  third  season  (1851),  was  quite  favorable  for  the  ripening  of 
wheat  and  barley.  The  seed  on  the  experimental  barley-field,  was 
sown  Feb.  24,  and  the  harvest  was  late ;  so  that  the  crop  had  an 
unusually  long  season  for  growth.  It  was  one  of  the  years  when 
even  poor  land,  if  clean,  gives  a  good  crop.  The  unmanured  plot, 
it  will  be  seen,  yielded  over  35  bushels  per  acre  of  dressed  grain, 
weighing  over  53^  lbs.  per  bushel.  The  total  weight  of  grain,  was 
1,963  lbs.  This  is  over  40  bushels  per  acre,  of  48  lbs.  per  bushel, 
which  is  the  standard  with  us. 
11 


242  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

The  14  tons  of  farm-yard  manure  produce  nearly  56^  bushels 
per  acre. 

50  lbs.  of  ammonia,  on  plot  la 471  bushels  per  acre. 

100    "      "  "       ."     "     laa 5G*      "  " 

You  will  see,  that  though  the  plot  which  has  received  43  tons  of 

manure  per  acre,  produced  a  splendid  crop ;  the  plot  having  nothing 

except  100  lbs.  of  animouia  per  acre,  produceil  a  crop  equally  good. 

"IIow  much   increase  do  you  gtt  from  50  lbs.  of  ammonia," 

asked  the  Deacon,  "  and  how  much  from  100  lbs.  ?" 

Equal  Anier. 
Grain.        t^raw.        jiu.ififh. 
50  lbs  of  ammonia,  pives  an  increase  of    WK)  lbs.    952  lbs.     161  bush. 
100  "     '•  ••  "        "        "         *'  1,300    '•    2,100    "       3S      " 

If  you  buy  nitrate  of  soda  at  3}  cents  a  lb.,  the  ammonia  will 
cost  20  cents  a  lb.  lu  the  above  experiment.  50  lbs.  of  amuioiiiu, 
costing  |10,  gives  an  increase  of  IGjj  bushels  of  barley,  and  nearly 
half  a  ton  of  straw.  If  the  straw  is  worth  |4.00  per  ton,  the  barley 
will  cost  -18  cents  a  bushel. 

Double  the  quantity  of  manure,  costing  $20,  gives  an  increase  of 
28  bushels  of  barley,  and  over  one  ton  of  straw.  In  this  case  the 
extra  barley  costs  57  cents  a  bushel. 

On  plot  2  I.,  50  lbs.  of  ammonia  and  3*  cwt.  of  superphosphate, 
give  3,437  lbs.  of  c^rain,  e(iual  to  7H  of  our  bushels  per  acre. 

On  plot  2<i.'i.  100  lbs.  of  ammonia  and  3^  cwt.  of  superphos  hate, 
give  3,643  lbs.  of  grain,  which  lacks  only  5  lbs.  of  76  bushels  per 
acre,  and  nearly  2|  tons  of  straw. 

"That  will  do,"  said  the  Dea-on, "  but  I  sec  that  in  1857,  this 
same  plot,  with  the  same  manure,  produced  6Gi  bushels  of  dressed 
grain  per  arre,  wciirhing  53A  lbs.  to  the  bushel,  or  a  total  weight  of 
3,690  lbs.,  equal  to  just  77  of  our  bu.sliels  per  acre." 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  this  same  year,  the  plot  which 
had  84  tons  of  farm-yard  manure  per  acre,  produced  only  2,915 
lbs.  of  grain,  or  less  than  61  of  our  busliels  of  barley  per  acre." 

The  Squire  happened  in  at  tliis  time,  an<l  heard  tlie  last  remark. 
"  What  are  you  saying,"  he  remarked,  "  about  only  61  bushels  of 
barley  per  acre.  I  should  like  to  sec  such  a  crop.  Last  year,  in 
this  neighborhood,  there  were  hundreds  of  acres  of  barley  that  did 
not  yirld  20  bushels  per  acre,  and  very  little  of  it  would  weigh  44 
lbs.  to  the  bushel." 

This  is  true.  And  t lie  maltsters  find  it  almost  impossible  to  get 
six-rowed  barley  weighing  48  lbs.  per  bushel.  They  told  me,  that 
they  would  pay  fl.lO  per  bushel  for  good  bright  barley  weighing 
48  lbs.  per  bushel,  and  for  each  ponnd  it  weighed  less  than  this, 
they  deducted  10  cents  a  bushel  from  the  price.     In  other  words, 


MANURE    KOIi    IJAKLEV.  243 

they  would  pay  f  1.00  :i  busliil  fur  b;irl( y  WL-JL^bing  47  lbs.  to  the 
bushel;  90  cents  for  barley  weighing  4G  lbs;  80  cents  for  barley 
weighing  4o  lbs.,  and  70  cmts  for  barley  weighing  41  lbs. — and  at 
these  figures  tiiey  much  preferred  the  heaviest  barley. 

It  is  certainly  well  worth  our  while,  if  we  raise  barley  at  all,  to 
Bee  if  we  cannot  manage  not  only  to  raise  larger  crops  per  acre,  but 
to  produce  barley  of  better  (juality.  And  these  wonderful  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Lawcs  are  well  worth  careful  examination  and  study. 

Tlie  Squire  put  on  his  spectacles  and  looked  at  the  tables  of 
figures. 

"Like  evcryliody  else,"  said  he,  "you  pick  out  the  big  figures, 
and  to  hear  you  talk,  one  would  think  you  scientific  gentlemen 
never  have  any  poor  crops,  and  yet  I  see  that  in  IHOO,  there  are 
three  ditFerent  crops  of  only  12i,  12J,  and  13^  bushels  per  acre." 

"Those,"  said  I,  "are  the  three  plots  which  have  grown  barley 
every  year  without  any  manure,  and  you  have  selected  the  worst 
year  of  the  whole  twenty." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  the  Squire,  "  but  we  have  got  to  take  the 
bad  with  the  good,  and  I  have  often  heard  you  say  that  a 
good  farmer  who  has  his  land  rich  and  clean  makes  more 
money  in  an  unfavorable  than  in  a  favorable  season.  Now,  this 
year  1800,  seems  to  have  been  an  unfavorable  one,  and  yet  your 
pet  manure,  superphosjihate,  only  gives  an  increase  of  148  lbs.  of 
barley — or  three  l^ushels  and  4  lbs.  Yet  this  plot  has  had  a  tre- 
mendous dressing  of  3i  cwt.  of  superphosphate  yearly  since  1852. 
I  always  told  you  you  lost  money  in  buying  superjihosidiate. " 

"  That  depends  on  what  you  do  with  it.  I  use  it  for  turnips,  and 
tomatoes,  cabbages,  lettuce,  melons,  cucumbers,  etc.,  and  would 
not  like  to  be  without  it;  but  I  have  never  recommended  any  one 
to  use  it  on  wheat,  barlev,  oats,  Indian  com.  or  potatoes,  except  as 
an  experiment.  "What  I  have  recommended  you  to  get  for  barley 
is.  nitrate  of  soda,  and  superphosphate,  or  Peruvian  guano.  And 
you  will  see  that  even  in  this  decidedly  unfavorable  season,  the 
plot  2a. '7. ,  dres-ed  with  superphosphate  and  275  lbs.  of  nitrate  of 
soda,  produced  2,338  lbs.  of  barley,  or  48f  bushels  per  acre.  This 
is  an  increase  over  the  unmanured  plots  of  33*^  bushels  per  acre, 
ana  :m  increase  of  1,872  lbs.  of  straw.  And  the  plot  dressed  with 
superphosphate  and  200  lbs.  of  salts  of  ammonia,  gave  equally  as 
good  results." 

And  this,  mark  you,  is  the  year  which  the  Squire  selected  as  the 
one  most  likely  to  show  that  artificial  manures  did  not  pay. 

"  I  never  knew  a  man  except  you,"  said  the  Squire,"  who  wanted 
unfavorable  seasons." 


244  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

I  have  never  said  I  wanted  unfavorable  seasons.  I  should  not 
dare  to  say  so,  or  even  to  cherish  the  wish  for  one  moment.  But 
I  do  say,  that  when  we  have  a  season  so  favorable  that  even  poorly 
worked  land  will  produce  a  fair  crop,  we  arc  almost  certain  to  have 
prices  below  the  average  cost  of  production.  But  wheu  we  have 
an  unfavorable  season,  such  crops  as  barley,  potatoes,  and  bcaus, 
Dften  advance  to  extravagantly  high  prices,  and  the  farmer  wlio  has 
good  crops  in  such  a  st-ason,  gels  something  like  adequate  pay  for 
his  patient  wailing,  and  for  his  efforts  to  improve  his  land. 

'*  That  sounds  all  very  well,"  said  the  Squire,"  but  will  it  pay  to 
use  these  artlGcial  manures  V  " 

I  do  not  wish  to  wander  too  much  from  the  point,  but  would 
like  to  remark  before  I  answer  that  question,  that  1  am  not  a 
special  advocate  of  artificial  manures.  I  think  we  can  often  make 
manures  on  our  farms  far  ch  apcr  than  wc  can  buy  them.  But  aa 
the  Squire  has  asked  the  question,  and  as  he  has  selected  from  Mr. 
Lawes'  results,  the  year  1800,  I  will  meet  him  on  his  own  ground, 
lie  lias  selected  a  season  specially  unfavorable  for  the  growth  of 
barley.  Now,  in  sucli  an  unfavorable  year  in  this  country,  barley 
would  be  likely  to  bring,  at  least,  $\:2~t  per  bushel,  and  in  a  favor- 
able season  not  over  75  cents  a  bushel. 

Mr.  Lawes  keeps  his  land  clean,  which  is  more  than  c^in  be  said 
of  many  barley-growers.  And  in  this  unfavorable  season  of  1800, 
he  gets  on  his  three  unmanured  plots  an  average  of  730  lbs.  of 
barley,  equal  to  151^  bushels  per  acre,  and  not  quite  800  lbs.  of 
straw. 

Many  of  our  farmers  frequently  do  no  better  than  this.  And 
you  must  recollect  that  in  such  careful  experiments  as  those  of 
Mr.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert,  great  paiii.s  would  be  taken  to  get  all 
the  barley  that  grew  on  tl)C  laml.  Willi  us,  barley  is  cut  with  a 
reaper,  and  admirable  as  our  machines  are,  it  is  not  an  easy  matter 
to  cut  a  light,  spindling  crop  of  barley  perfectly  clean.  Then,  in 
pitching  the  cr  )p  and  drawing  it  in,  more  or  less  barley  is  scattered, 
and  even  after  we  have  been  over  the  field  two  or  three  times  with 
a  steel-toot'i  rake,  there  is  still  considerable  barley  left  on  the 
ground.  I  think  we  may  safely  assume  that  at  least  as  much  barley 
is  left  on  the  ground  as  we  usually  sow — say  two  l)ushels  per  acre. 
And  so,  instead  of  bavin;;  15^  busliels  per  acre,  as  Mr.  Lawes  had, 
we  should  only  harvest  13i  bushels. 

Of  all  our  ordinary  farm  crops,  barley  is  attended  with  the  lea.<^t 
labor  and  expense.  We  usually  sow  it  after  corn  or  potatoes.  On 
sjch  stnmg  land  as  that  of  Mr.  Lawes,  we  ought  to  plow  the  land 


MAN  U  UK    i-uli    UAliLKY.  2i5 

in  the  autumn  and  ai^ui"  in  the  spring,  or  at  least  stir  up  the  land 
tJboriiugldy  with  :i  two  or  turi-c-horsf  cullivalor  or  guii^-plow. 

Lei  us  say  that  tbe  cost  of  plowing,  harrowing,  drilling,  and 
rolling,  is  |r).uO  per  acre.  Seed,  $2.00.  Ilurvesting,  $2.00.  Thresh- 
ing, G  cents  a  bushel. 

Receipts : 

13i  husbels  barley  07  1.25 $16.57 

SOU  lbs.  ol  stniw  (u  fl.  jrt  lou l.tiO 

Putting  in  and  harvesting  the  crop  $y.00 

ThreBliing  13i  bushels  {a  0  c «U—  'JM 

Rent  and  profit  per  acre f  b.37 

"That  is  a  better  showing  than  I  expected,"  said  the  Squire, 
*♦  and  as  barley  occupies  tbe  land  only  a  few  months,  and  ui  we 
sow  wheat  after  it,  we  cannot  expect  large  profits." 

"  Very  well,"  said  I,  "  Now  let  us  take  tbe  crop,  this  same  un- 
favorable year,  on  plot  2a. ii.,  dressed  with  superphosphate  and 
nitrate  of  soda. 

The  expense  of  plowing,  harrowing,  drilling,  rolling,  seed,  and 
harvesting,  would  be  about  the  same,  or  we  will  say  $2.00  an  acre 
more  for  extra  labor  in  harvesting.  And  we  will  allow  two  busiiels 
per  acre  for  sciUtcrings — though  there  is  nothing  like  as  much 
barley  left  on  the  gnmnd  when  we  have  a  good  crop,  as  when  we 
have  a  poor  crop.     But  I  want  to  be  liberal. 

The  yield  on  pb)t  2a.<i.,  was  48J  bushels  per  acre,  and  2,715  lbs. 
of  straw. 

Receipts: 

461  bushels  (cb  fl.25 fS.'^.iS 

2,715  lbs.  straw  (a  $4.  per  ton 5.43 

$63.86 
Putting  in  the  crop  and  harvesting. . .  $11.00 

Thrcshinir  4 '-i  bushels  in  6  c 2.S0 

375  lbs.  nitrate  of  soda  (a  4  c 11.00 

392  lbs.  superphosphate  @  2  c 7.84 

$32.&4 
Rent  and  profit $31.22 

In  ordinary  farm  practice,  I  feel  sure  we  can  do  better  than  this. 
Grow  ing  barley  year  after  year  on  tbe  same  land,  is  not  tlie  most 
economical  way  of  getting  tbe  full  value  of  the  manure.  There  is 
much  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  left  in  the  land,  which  barley 
or  even  wheat  does  not  seem  capable  of  taking  up,  but  which  would 
probably  be  of  great  benefit  to  tbe  clover. 


246  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

MANURE    AND    ROTATION    OF    CROPS. 

The  old  notion  that  there  is  any  retii  chemical  necessity  for  a 
rotation  of  crops  is  unfounded.  Wheat  can  be  grown  after  wheat, 
and  barley  after  barley,  and  corn  after  corn,  provided  we  use  the 
necessary  manures  and  get  the  soil  clean  and  in  the  right  mechani- 
cal condition. 

'  What,  then,  do  we  gain  by  a  rotation  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

Much  every  way.  A  good  rotation  enables  us  to  clean  the  land. 
We  can  put  in  diflferent  crops  at  ditFcrenl  seasons. 

"  So  we  could,"  broke  in  the  Deacon,  "  if  we  sowed  wheat  after 
wheat,  barley  after  barley,  anu  com  after  corn." 

True,  but  if  we  sowed  winter-wheat  after  winter-wheat,  there 
would  not  be  time  enough  to  clean  the  land. 

"Just  as  much  as  when  we  sow  wheat  after  oats,  or  peas,  or 
barley." 

"True  again.  Deacon,"  I  replied,  "but  we  arc  supposed  to  have 
cleaned  the  Ian  1  while  it  was  in  corn  the  previous  year.  I  say  sup- 
posed, because  in  point  of  fact,  many  of  our  farmers  do  not  half 
clean  their  land  while  it  is  in  corn.  It  is  the  weak  spot  in  our 
agriculture.  If  our  land  was  as  clean  as  it  should  be  to  start  with, 
there  is  no  rotation  so  convenient  in  this  section,  as  com  the  first 
year,  barley,  peas,  or  oats  the  second  year,  followed  by  winter- 
wheat  seeded  down.  But  to  carry  out  this  rotation  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage wc  need  artificial  nuinures." 

"But  will  they  pay?"  asks  the  Deacon. 

"They  will  pay  well,  provided  we  can  get  them  at  a  fair  price 
and  get  fair  prices  for  our  produce.  If  we  could  get  a  good  su- 
perphosphate made  from  Charleston  phosphates  for  li  cent  per  lb., 
and  nitrate  of  soda  for  oi  or  4  cents  per  lb.,  and  the  German  pot- 
ash-salts for  i  cent  per  lb.,  and  could  get  on  the  average  $1.25  per 
bushel  ft)r  barley,  and  f  1.75  for  good  white  wheat,  we  could  use 
these  manures  to  groat  advantage." 

"  Nothing  like  barn-yard  manure,"  says  the  Deacon. 

No  doubt  on  that  point,  provided  it  is  good  manure.  Barn-yard 
manure,  whether  rich  or  poor,  contains  all  the  elements  of  plant- 
food,  but  there  is  a  great  difference  between  rich  and  poor  manure. 
The  rich  manure  contains  twice  t)r  three  times  as  much  nitrogen 
and  phosphoric  acid  as  ordinary  or  poor  manure.  And  this  is  the 
reason  why  artificial  manures  are  valuable  in  proportion  to  the 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  that  they  contain  in  an  available  con- 
dition. When  we  use  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  per  acre  of  a 
good  artificial  manure  we  in  effect,  directly  or  indirectly,  convert 


MANURE    FOR    BARLEY.  247 

poor  manure  into  rich  manure.  There  is  manure  in  our  soil,  but 
it  is  poor.  There  is  manure  in  our  barn-yard,  but  it  is 
poor  also.  Nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  will  make  these 
manures  rich.  This  is  the  reason  why  a  few  pounds  of  a  good 
artificial  manure  will  protiuce  as  great  an  effect  as  tons  of  common 
manure.  Depend  upon  it,  the  coming  farmer  will  avail  himself  of 
the  discoveries  of  science,  and  will  use  more  artificial  fertilizers. 

But  whether  we  use  artiticial  fertilizers  or  farm-yard  manure,  we 
shall  not  g^n  the  full  elTcct  of  the  manures  unless  we  adopt  a 
judicious  rotation  of  crops. 

When  we  sow  wheat  after  wheat,  or  barley  after  barley,  or  oats 
after  oats,  we  certainly  do  not  get  the  full  eflFect  of  the  manures 
used.  Mr.  Lawes'  exp"riments  afford  conclusive  evidence  on  this 
point.  You  will  recollect  tuit  in  1840,  one  of  the  plots  of  wheat 
(106),  which  had  received  a  liberal  dressing  of  salts  of  ammonia 
the  year  previous,  was  left  without  manure,  and  the  yield  of  wheat 
on  this  plot  was  no  greater  than  on  the  plot  which  was  continu- 
ously unraanured.  In  other  words,  the  ammonii  w/iich  was  left  in 
the  toil  from  the  prer'ous  year,  had  no  effect  on  the  wheat. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  nitrogen  furnished  by 
the  manure,  and  the  amount  recovered  in  the  crop,  when  wheat  is 
grown  after  wheat  for  a  series  of  years,  and  also  when  barley  is 
grown  after  barley,  and  oats  after  oats. 


248 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


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MANURE    FOR    nARLET.  249 

It  is  not  necessary  to  make  any  nuimu'nts  on  this  table.  It 
speaks  for  itself;  but  it  iloes  nut  tell  h:ilf  the  story.  For  instance, 
in  the  case  of  wheat  and  barley,  it  pvcs  tbe  average  result  for  20 
years.  It  shows  that  when  100  lbs.  of  nitrogen  in  a  soluble  and 
available  form,  are  applied  to  wheat,  about  6>t  lbs.  are  lejt  in  the 
toil.  But  you  must  recollect  that  100  lbs.  was  api>]ii'd  again  the 
next  year,  and  no  account  is  taken  of  the  6S  lbs.  left  in  tlie  soil — 
«\nd  so  on  for  20  years.  In  other  words,  on  plot  8,  for  instance, 
2,460  lbs.  of  nitrogin  have  been  applied,  and  only  llh  lbs.  have 
been  recovered  in  ihc  total  produce  of  grain,  straw,  and  chaff, 
and  1,685  lbs.  have  been  left  in  the  soil. 

Mr.  Lawes  estimates,  from  several  analyses,  that  his  farm-yard 
manure  contains  0.637  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  2.76  per  cent  of  mineral 
matter,  and  27.24  per  cent  of  organic  matter,  and  70  per  cent  of 
water. 

According  to  this,  the  plot  dressed  with  14  tons  of  manure  every 
year,  for  20  years,  has  received  3,'.>y.*  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  of  which  58;H 
lbs.  were  recovered  in  the  produce,  and  3,411J  lbs.  were  left  in  the 
soil. 

In  the  case  of  barley,  3,995  lbs.  of  nitrogen  was  applied  dur- 
ing the  20  years  to  the  plot  dressed  with  farm-yard  manure,  of 
which  427*  lbs.  were  recovered  in  the  crop,  and  3,567J  lbs.  left  in 
tbe  soil. 

*'  I  see,"  s;iid  the  Deacon,  "  that  barley  gets  less  of  the  goodness 
out  of  farm-yard  manure  than  wheat,  but  that  it  gets  more  out  of 
the  salts  of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  soda.  How  do  you  account 
for  that?" 

"  I  sui  pose,  because  the  manure  for  wheat  was  applied  in  the 
autumn,  and  the  rains  of  winter  and  spring  dissolved  more  of  tbe 
plant-food  than  would  be  the  case  if  the  manure  was  applied  in 
the  spring.  If  tbe  manure  had  been  applied  on  the  surface,  in- 
stead of  plowing  it  under,  I  believe  the  effect  would  have  been 
Btill  more  in  favor  of  the  autumn-manuring." 

When  the  nitrogen  is  in  an  available  condition,  spring  barley 
can  take  up  and  utilize  a  larger  proportion  of  the  nitrogen  than 
winter  wheat.  Neither  tbe  wheat  nor  the  barley  can  get  at  and 
take  up  half  what  is  applied,  aid  tliis,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  a  heavy  dew  or  a  sliirht  rain  furnishes  water  enough  on  an 
acre  to  dissolve  a  liberal  dressin;;  of  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia.  The  truth  is,  the  soil  is  very  conserva- 
tive. It  does  not,  fortunately  for  us,  yield  up  all  its  plant-food  in 
a  year 

We  have  seen  that  when  wheat  or  barley  is  dressed  with  sol- 


250 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


iiblc  auiiiiouia-salts  or  nitrate  of  soila,  a  considerable  amount  of 
tl^'  nitro^^i-n  is  loft  in  the  soil — an  1  yet  this  uilroi^en  is  of  eoinpara- 
tively  liltlo  bjui'tit  to  the  succeeding  crops  of  wheat  or  barley, 
while  a  fresh  dressing  of  ammonia-salts  or  nitrate  of  soda  is  of 
great  benefit  to  the  crop. 

In  other  words,  when  wheat  is  sown  after  wheat,  or  barley 
after  barlr-y,  we  do  not  get  lialf  the  benefit  from  the  manure  which 
it  is  theoretically  capable  of  producing. 


Now,  the  question  is,  whether  l)y  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops, 
we  can  avoid  this  great  loss  of  manure  ? 

Tii're  w.is  a  time  when  it  was  tliou-^ht  that  the  growth  of  tur- 
nips enriched  tiie  soil.  I  have  heard  it  said,  again  and  again,  that 
the  reason  E:i,dish  farmers  grow  larger  crops  of  wheat  and  bailey 
than  we  do,  is  because  ihey  grow  so  many  acres  of  turnips. 

"  So  I  have  often  heard,"  said  the  Deacon,  "and  I  supposed  the 
broail  turnip  leaves  absorbed  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere." 

ThiTO  is  no  evidence  that  l-aves  have  any  sucii  power;  while 
tliere  are  many  facts  wliich  jioint  in  an  opposite  direction.  The 
following  experiments  of  Lawesand  (Jilbert  seem  to  show  that  the 
mere  growth  of  turnips  does  not  enrich  land  for  grain  crops. 

Turnips  w.'re  grown  on  the  same  land,  year  after  year,  for  ten 
years.  Tlu;  \u\  1  was  then  plowed  and  sown  to  barley  for  three 
years.    The  following  table  gives  the  results: 

Three  Years  of  Barlet  after  Ten  Years  of  Turnips. 


PARTICCLAUS  or   MANIRES,    KTP. 


IIoos-Ficld  — 
Bailey,  without  manure,  after  3  corn-crops 

Birn-Field— 
Biiiicy.  after  10  yrs.  Turnips  raannred  as  under— 

l.—Miiieral  manures  (la-t  8  year!') — 

2.— Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  .\inmoiiia-salts  (6  yrs.). 

3.— Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.);  Rape-cake  (6  yrs.) 

4. —Mineral     manun-s    (8  yrs.);   Ammonia-salts  and 
Itape-cake  ((J  yrs.)  


Produce  qf  Barley  per  Acre. 


bush.!  I>ush.   bu!*!!. 
26 


20 'i 
234 
28'4 

294 

5.— Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.) ;  Ammonia-salts,  for  Bar-'  I 

lev,  ISot  (aO)<?) 

6.— Mineral  manures  (8  yrs.)  ;  Nitrate  Soda,  for  Bar- 
Icy. 'W  and '55 '  (2flV) 

The  yield  of  barley  after  turnips  is  less  than 
crops,  and  it  is  evident  that  this  is  due  to  a  lack  of 


354 

344 

19<< 
21  ii 
24^ 

20 
21  ?i 
234 

23X 

23X 

■ 

52?^ 

26H 

M% 

40  ^i 

bush, 
31  J( 


20 
22 
25X 

26J4 


394 


it  is  after  grain 
available  nitro- 


>fANi  r.E  van  n.vni.EY.  251 

gen  in  llio  soil  In  otliiT  wonls,  the  iiirnii)s  IcaVi;  ItKi  aviiihiblo 
nitro^oii  in  the  soil  liian  j^rain  crops. 

Aftrr  aiiuilini;  to  llie  fat-Is  given  in  liic  foregoing  table,  Messrs. 
Lawrs  ami  Gilbert  say  : 

"  There  is  eviilenee  of  another  kind  that  may  be  cited  as  show- 
ing that  it  was  of  available  nitrogen  that  the  turnii)s  hail  rendered 
the  soil  so  delicicnt  for  the  aftergrowth  of  barley.  It  may  be  as 
sumed  that,  on  the  average,  between  2')  and  ^0  lbs.  of  nitrogen 
would  be  annually  removed  from  the  Rothainsted  soil  by  wheat 
or  barley  grown  year  after  year  witlioul  nitrogenous  manure.  But 
it  is  estimated  that  fron>  the  niineral-nianured  turnip-plots  there 
were,  over  the  10  years,  more  than  50  lbs.  <»f  nitrogen  per  acre  per 
annum  removed.  As,  however,  on  some  of  the  plots,  small  quan- 
tities of  ammonia-salts  or  rape-cake  were  ai)plie.l  in  the  first  two 
years  of  the  ten  of  turnips,  it  is,  perhaps,  more  to  the  purjxise  to 
tiike  the  average  orer  l lie  last  8  yeai-s  of  turnips  only  ;  and  this 
would  show  about  45  lbs.  of  nitrogen  removed  per  acre  per  annum. 
An  immaterial  proportion  of  this  migiit  be  due  to  the  small 
amounts  of  nitrogenous  manures  applied  in  the  first  two  years. 
Still,  it  may  be  assumed  tLat  about  li  time  as  much  nitrogen  was 
removed  from  the  land  for  8,  if  not  for  10  years,  in  succession,  as 
would  have  been  taken  in  an  equal  number  of  crops  of  wheat  or 
barley  grown  without  nitrogenous  manure.  No  wonder,  then, 
that  considerably  less  barley  has  been  grown  in  3  years  after  a 
series  of  mineral-manured  turnip-crops,  tlian  was  obtained  in  an- 
other field  after  a  les?  number  of  corn-crops. 

"The  residts  obtained  in  Barn-field  afford  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  dependence  of  the  turnip-plant  on  a  supply  of  available  ni- 
trogen within  the  soil,  and  of  its  comparatively  great  power  of 
exhausting  it.  They  are  also  perfectly  consistent  with  those  in 
Hoos-field.  in  showing  that  mineral  manures  will  not  yield  fair 
crops  of  barley,  unless  there  be,  within  the  soil,  a  liberal  supply  of 
available  nitrogen.  The  p'sults  obtained  under  such  very  ditTerent 
conditions  in  the  two  fields  are,  in  fact,  .strikingly  mutually  con- 
firmatory." 


252 


TALKS    OX    MAVURBS. 


CHAPTER     XXX. 


MANURES    FOR    OATS. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  talking  about  manure  for  oats,"  said  the 
Deacon,  "  if  laud  is  not  rich  enough  to  produce  oats  withdut  ma- 
Dure,  it  certainly  will  not  pay  to  manure  tliem.  "We  can  use  our 
manure  on  some  crop  tbat  will  pay  better." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  we  want  to  know,"  said  I.  "  Very  likely 
you  are  riglit,  but  have  you  any  evidence  ?  " 

"  Evidence  of  wliat  V  " 

"Have  you  any  facts  that  show,  for  instance,  that  it  will  pay 
better  to  use  manure  for  wheat  or  Itarley  than  for  oats?  " 

"  Can't  say  that  I  have,  but  I  think  manure  will  pay  better  on 
wheat  tlian  on  oats." 

Mr.  Lawes  is  making  a  series  of  experiments  on  oats.  Let  us 
take  a  hasty  glance  at  the  results  of  the  first  two  seasons : 


Experiments  on  Oats  at  Rothamsted. 


MANUnE»   PEK  ACRE. 

Giain,  in 

bushds. 

Straw,  cwts. 

Weight  per 
biuhel,  Ihf. 

18(J!t. 

1870. 

1869. 

1870. 
9H 
9*i 

285i 
23 

mi 

1869. 

36?i 

38X 
37>i^ 

39  V 
38'/, 

1870. 

3ti?g 

45 
56  H 

75»4 
62;^ 

69?i 

16?8 

mi 

50  ?8 
50 

19 '4 

3678 

54 
42  Ji 

49  » 

35 

2.— Mixc-.i  Alkalic?  and  Snpcrphosplmtc 
i>f  Lime                      

35  >« 

3.— 4CI0  Itis.  .\ininoiiia-!;:i]l?      

4.— Mixed  .\lk:ilies  and  Siiperphospliate, 

and  4W  9>».  Aminoiiiii-salts  

5.— 5.50  ft)".  Nitrite  of  Soda 

6.— Mixed      Alk.ilies,     Supcrpliosphate, 

and  550  lbs.  Nitrate  of  Soda. 

34 'i 

36 
35^1 

355li 

It  seems  clear  that,  for  oats,  as  for  barley  and  wheat,  what  we 
most  need  in  manure,  is  available  nitrogen. 

The  first  yfar,  the  no-manure  plot  produced  36|  bushels  of  oats 
per  acre,  weighing  361  lbs.  per  bushel,  and  plot  3,  with  ammonia- 
salts  alone,  56^  bushels,  and  with  nitrate  of  soda  alone,  on  plot  5, 
62}  bushels  per  acre,  botli  weighing  08i  lbs.  per  bushd.  In  other 
words,  82  lbs.  of  available  nitrogen  \n  the  salts  of  ammonia  gave 
an  increase  of  about  20  bushels  per  acre,  and  the  same  quantity  of 
nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda  an  increase  of  26  bushels  per  acre. 

The  next  year,  the  season  seems  to  have  been  a  very  unfavor- 


MANURES    FOR    OATS.  253 

able  one  for  oaU;.  Tlie  no-manure  plot  produced  less  than  17 
bushels  per  acre  ;  and  the  "ashes"  and  superphosphate  on  plot  2, 
give  an  increase  of  less  than  3  bushels  per  acre.  Uul  it  will  be 
seen  that  on  plot  3  the  ammonia-salts  do  as  much  gooil  in  this  un- 
favorable season  as  in  the  fa\orable  one.  They  give  an  increase 
of  over  20  bushels  per  acre. 

"A  few  such  facts  as  this,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  would  almost 
persuade  me  that  j'ou  are  right  in  contending  that  it  is  in  the  un- 
favorable seasons,  when  prices  are  sure  to  be  high  in  this  country, 
that  a  gooil  fanner  stiinds  the  best  chance  to  make  money." 

"  Will-re  mixed  alkaliis  and  superphosphate,"  said  the  Doctor, 
"are  added  to  the  ammonia,  the  increase  fnna  the  nmmoiiia  is  far 
greater  tiian  wiiere  ammonia  is  used  alone.  In  other  words,  by 
comparing  plot  2  and  plot  4,  you  will  see  that  the  ammonia  gives 
an  increase  of  30^  bushels  per  acre  in  1809,  and  3U  bushels 
in  1870." 

The  truth  of  the  matter  probably  is  this :  100  lbs.  of  available 
ammonia  per  acre  is  an  excessive  suppl}',  when  used  alone.  And 
in  fact  Mr.  Lawes  himself  only  recommends  about  half  this 
quantity. 

Whetlier  it  will  jniy  us  to  use  artificial  manures  on  oats  depends 
on  the  price  we  are  likely  to  get  for  the  oats.  When  the  price  of 
oats^r  lb.  and  oat-straw  is  as  high  as  barley  and  barley  straw  per 
/i.,then  it  will  \i\\y  a  I'ttte  httter  io  use  manure  on  oats  than  on 
barley.  As  a  rule  in  t'.iis  country,  however,  good  barley  >s  worth 
more  per  lb.  than  good  oats  ;  and  it  will  usually  pay  better  *o  use 
artificial  manures  on  barley  than  on  oats. 

Some  years  ago  Mr.  Bath,  of  Virginia,  made  some  experiments 
on  oats  with  the  following  results  : 

BusTids  of  oats 
per  acre. 

No.  1— :200  lbs.  Superphosphute 22 

No.  2—200  lljs.  Peruvian  f^uano 48J 

No.  3—100  lbs.  Peruvian  guano 32 

The  oats  were  sown  March  13,  and  the  crop  harvested  July  4 

In  1860, 1  made  some  experuuents  with  gypsum,  superphosphate, 
and  sulphate  of  ammonia  as  a  top-dressing  on  oats. 

The  land  was  a  clover-sod,  i)lowed  about  the  middle  of  May, 
and  the  oats  .sown  May  20.  On  the  26th  of  May,  just  as  the  oats 
were  coming  up,  the  manures  were  sown  broadcast.  The  oats 
■were  sown  too  late  to  obtain  the  best  results.  On  another  field, 
where  the  oats  were  sown  two  weeks  earlier,  the  crop  was  decidedly 
better.     The  oats  were  cut  August  28. 

The  following  is  the  result : 


2:)4 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


EXPEBIMENTS  ON  OaTS  AT   MOBETON  FaBM,   RocaESTER,    N.    Y. 


Plots. 


MANl'KES    1-KK    AtKE. 


No.  1    No  manure 

a  two  li)S.  (Jypsiiiu  (Sulplmte  of  Lime) 

3  l-'lOO  lbs.  !Siii>erplui>|>lmle    of  Lime... 

4  .'iOO  lljs.  Suipliaie  <>i  Aiiiinoiiiu 

5  -'WO  lb:*.  SiiperplKj^pli.ite  of  Lime,  uiul  3tX) 
I    lb:-.  SulpUate  o>  Ammonia 


Biuhtls       Wei(j/U       airaw 
01  Oat«   jxr  liimUel    /jtr  acre 


jxrr  acre. 

ae 

47 

50 
50 


III  /A,<. 

•i-i 

•il 
•z-i. 

22>4 


III  lbs. 

1,U5U 
2,475 
•J,47o 
2,730 

2,576 


These  experiments  wore  made  when  my  laml  was  not  as  clean 
as  it  {■n  uow.  I  presume  the  weeds  got  more  benetil  from  the  am- 
monia th.m  the  oats.  To  top-dress  foul  laud  with  e.vpensive  arti- 
licial  maniirvs  is  money  thrown  away.  If  t'.ie  hind  had  hccii  ph)wcd 
in  the  autumn,  and  tlie  s<'ed  and  manures  eouhl  liave  been  put  in 
early  in  the  spring,  I  presume  we  should  have  had  more  favoraltle 
results. 

"  Are  you  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge,"  paid  the  Deacon,  "  tliat 
you  have  ever  rai.sed  oats  weigliing  only  22  lbs.  per  bushel." 

No.  I  have  raised  even  worse  crojis  than  thi.s — and  so  has  the 
Dencon.  But  I  made  up  my  niin<l  that  such  farming  did  not  paj', 
and  I  have  been  trying  hard  since  then  to  dean  my  land  and  got 
it  into  I)ottor  condition.  And  until  this  is  done,  if  is  useless  to  talk 
]nu(  li  of  artiti(  ial  manures. 

The  most  striking  result  is  the  ofToct  of  the  gypsum.  It  not  only 
gave  an  increased  yield  of  11  itushels  per  acre,  but  the  oats  were  of 
decidedly  better  quality,  and  there  was  nearly  half  a  ton  more 
straw  per  acre  than  on  the  plot  alongside,  where  no  manure  was 
used. 

The  superphosphate  was  a  good  article,  similar  to  that  used  in 
Mr.  Lawes'  experiments. 


MANUUES    FOi;    roTATOKS.  255 

C  n  A  i'  T  E  K      \   XXI. 

MA\riU:S  FOR  POTATOES. 

Some  time  ago,  a  fiiriiR-r  in  Pennsylvaniii  wrote  me  that  he 
waiittd  "  to  rai.^e  a  tirst-ratc  irop  of  potalcjcs."  I  aiiiswcred  him 
as  tollows  throui^'h  the  Anurictn  Agriculturint  : 

"  Tlierc-  are  many  ways  of  doiu-  this.  But  as  you  only  enter  on 
tlie  farm  this  spring,  you  will  work  to  disaiivaniage.  To  obtain 
the  be;*t  results,  it  is  necessary  to  prepare  for  (he  crop  tw  o  or  three 
years  beforehand.  All  that  you  can  do  this  year  is  to  select  the 
best  land  <»n  the  f.irni,  put  on  400  ll»s.  of  Peruvian  piano,  culti- 
vate thoroughly,  and  sulFer  not  a  weed  to  prow.  A  two  or  three- 
year-old  <lovcr-sod,  on  warm,  rich,  sandy  loam,  gi\es  a  good 
chance  for  pot^itocs.  Do  not  plow  until  you  are  ready  to  plant. 
Sow  the  guano  broa  least  afler  plowing,  and  harrow  it  in,  or  api)ly 
a  tJiblespoonfuI  in  each  hill,  and  nii.x  it  with  the  soil.  Mark  out 
the  rows,  both  ways,  three  feet  apart,  and  drop  a  fair-sized  potato 
in  each  hill.  Start  the  cultiv.itor  as  .soon  as  the  rows  can  be  dis- 
tinuMii.sht'd,  and  repeat  every  week  or  ten  days  until  there  is  danger 
of  disturbing  the  roots.  We  usually  hill  uj>  a  little,  making  a  broad, 
flat  hill.  A  tablespoonful  of  plaster,  dusted  on  the  young  plants 
soon  after  thev  come  up,  will  usually  do  good.  We  recommend 
guano,  because  in  our  experience  it  does  not  increase  the  rot. 
But  it  is  only  fair  to  add,  that  we  have  not  found  even  barn-yard 
manure,  if  thoroughly  rotted  and  well  mixed  with  the  soil  the  fall 
previous,  half  so  injurious  as  some  people  would  have  us  suppose. 
If  any  one  will  put  25  loads  per  acre  on  our  potato  land,  we  will 
agree  to  plant  and  run  the  risk  of  the  rot.  But  we  would  use  some 
guano  as  well.  The  truth  is,  that  it  is  useless  to  expect  a  large 
crop  of  potatoes,  say  350  bushels  per  acre,  without  plenty  of 
manure." 

This  was  w  ritten  before  the  potato-beetle  made  its  appearance. 
But  I  think  I  should  say  the  same  thing  now — only  put  it  a  little 
stronger.  The  truth  is,  it  will  not  pay  to  '•  fight  the  bugs"  on  a 
poor  crop  of  potatoes.  We  nmst  select  the  best  land  we  have  and 
make  it  as  rich  as  possible. 

"But  why  do  you  recommend  Peruvian  guano,"  asked  the 
Doctor,  "rather  than  superphosphate  or  ashes  ?  Potatoes  contain 
a  large  .amount  of  potash,  and  one  would  expoct  considerable 
benefit  from  an  ap;ili(ation  of  ashes." 

"  Ashes,  plaster,  and  hen-dung,"  said  the  Judge,  "  will  at  any  rate 


256  TALKS    OX    MANUnES. 

pay  well  on  potatoes.     I  have  tried  this  mixture  again  and  again, 
and  always  with  good  effect." 

"  I  believe  in  the  hen-dung,"  said  I,  "  and  possi])]y  in  the  plaster, 
but  on  my  land,  ashes  do  not  seem  to  be  specially  V»eneficial 
on  potatoes,  while  I  have  rarely  used  Peruvian  guano  without 
good  effect;  and  sometimes  it  has  proved  wonderfully  prolil 
able,  owing  to  the  high  price  of  potatoes." 


Sometime  ago,  I  had  a  visit  from  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  successful  farmers  in  Western  New  York. 

"What  I  want  to  learn,"  he  said,  "is  how  to  make  manure 
enough  to  keep  my  land  in  good  condition.  I  sell  nothing  but 
l)eans,  potatoes,  wheat,  and  apples.  I  feed  out  all  ni}'  corn,  oats, 
stalks,  straw,  and  hay  on  the  farm,  and  draw  into  the  barn-yard 
the  potato-vines  and  everytiiing  else  thit  will  rot  into  manure.  I 
make  a  big  pile  of  it.  But  the  point  with  me  is  to  tind  out  what  is 
the  i)est  stock  to  feed  this  straw,  stalks,  hay,  oats,  and  com  to,  so 
as  to  make  tiie  best  manure  and  return  the  largest  profit.  Last 
year  1  bouglit  a  lot  of  steers  to  feed  in  winter,  and  lost  money. 
This  fall  I  bought  G8  head  of  cowa  to  winter,  intending  to  sell 
them  in  the  spring." 

"  What  did  they  cost  yon  ?  " 

"  I  went  into  Wyoming  and  Cattaraugus  Counties,  and  picked 
them  up  among  tlie  dairy  farmers,  and  selected  a  very  fair  lot  oJ 
cows  at  an  average  of  $'22  per  bead.  I  fcypect  to  sell  them  as  new 
milch  cows  in  the  spring.  Such  cows  last  opring  would  have  "been 
worth  $60  to  $70  each." 

"  That  will  i^ay.  But  it  is  not  often  the  grain-grower  pets  such  a 
chance  to  teed  out  his  straw,  stalks,  an 't  other  fodder  to  advantage. 
It  cannot  be  adopted  as  a  permaucnt  system.  It  is  bad  for  the 
dairyman,  and  no  real  help  to  tha  grain-grower.  The  manure  is  not 
rich  enough.  Straw  and  stalks  alone  can  not  be  fed  to  advantage. 
And  when  you  winter  cows  to  sell  again  in  the  spring,  it  will  not 
pay  to  feed  grain.  If  you  were  going  to  keep  the  cows  it  w<  uld  pay 
well.  The  fat  and  flesh  you  put  on  in  the  winter  would  be  re- 
turned in  the  form  of  butter  and  cheese  next  summer." 

"  Why  is  not  the  manure  good  ?  I  am  careful  to  save  everything, 
and  expect  seven  or  eiglit  hundred  loads  of  manure  in  the  spring." 

"  You  h:id  60  acres  of  wheat  that  yielded  25  bushels  per  acre, 
and  have  probably  about  50  tons  of  wheat  straw.  You  had  also 
30  acres  oats,  that  yielded  50  bushels  per  acre,  say  35  tons  of 
straw.  Your  20  acres  of  corn  produced  40  bushels  cf  shelled  corn 
per  acre ;  say  t'.ic  stalks  weigh  30  tons.     And  you  have  60  tons  of 


MANUBKS    hOll    I'UTATOKS.  257 

hay,  half  clover  and  lialf  timothy.     Ltt  us  see  what  your  manure 

from  this  amount  of  gr:iin  aiul  fodder  is  worth. 

Manures  from 

50  tons  whcut-etraw,  (a  $2.GS |  134.00 

35  loiis  oal-?.lraw,  (<(  *;2.'.M) 101.50 

30  tons  c(ini-stalkt>,  «/  f;j..>s 107.40 

SOtons  tiiui.tliy-liav,  («  #<1.43 VJ-2.'M 

30  tons  clovcr-liay,"(«/   *H.64 )18\K'M 

14  tons  oats  (l,5(Hi  bush.),  (^(i  $7.70 107.'50 

at  tons  corn  (ftOO  bushels;,  (<t   $0.(>> lo'.t.tiO 

Total .  .213  tons  *l,0.t2.40 

"This  is  the  value  of  the  manure  on  the  land.  Assuminj:  tliat 
tliore  are  600  loads,  and  that  the  labor  of  cleaning  out  the  stal»les, 
piling,  carting,  and  spreading  the  manure  is  worth  ^0  cents  per 
loatl,  or  $lfSO,  we  have  $'.tl'2.4U  as  the  net  value  of  the  manure. 

"  Now,  your  2o0-acre  farm  iinght  he  so  managed  that  tliis  amount 
of  manure  aunuall}-  aj'plied  would  soon  greatly  increase  its  fertility. 
But  you  do  not  think  you  can  afford  to  summer-fallow,  and  you 
want  to  raise  thirty  or  forty  acres  of  potatoes  every  year." 

"  I  propose  to  do  so,"  he  replied.  "  Situated  as  I  am,  close  to  a 
pood  shipping  station,  no  crop  pays  me  better.  My  potatoes  this 
year  have  averaged  me  over  |!100  per  acre." 

"  Very  good.  But  it  is  perfectly  clear  to  my  mind  that  sooner 
or  later,  you  must  either  farm  slower  or  feed  higher.  And  in  your 
case,  situated  close  to  a  village  where  you  can  get  plenty  of  help, 
and  with  a  good  shipping  station  near  by,  you  had  better  adopt 
the  latter  plan.  You  must  feed  higher,  and  make  richer  manure. 
You  now  feed  out  213  tons  of  stuff,  and  make  600  loads  of  manure, 
worth  |;912.40.  By  feeding  out  one  third,  or  71  tons  more,  you  can 
more  than  dimhle  the  value  of  the  manure. 

50  tons  of  bran  or  mill-feed  would  trivc  manure  worth %  729.50 

21  tons  dccorticatcil  cotton-seed  cake S'^'j.OO 

?:i,314.5(; 
"  Bu3'  and  feed  out  this  amount  of  bran  and  cake,  and  you  would 
have  800  loads  of  manure,  worth  <>n  the  hmd  ^2,226.90,  or,  estimat- 
ing as  before  that  it  cost  30  cents  a  load  to  handle  it,  its  net  value 
would  be  $1,986.96." 


I  am  well  aware  that  comparatively  few  farmers  in  this  section 
can  afford  to  adopt  this  plan  of  enrichinir  their  land.  We  want 
better  stock.  I  do  not  know  where  I  could  buy  a  lot  of  steers  that 
it  would  pay  to  fatten  in  the  winter.  Those  farmers  who  raise 
good  grade  Shorthorn  or  Devon  cattle  are  not  the  men  to  sell 
them  lialf-fat  at  low  rates.  They  can  fatten  them  as  well  as  I  can 
For  some  time  to  come,  the  farmer  who  proposes  to  feed  liberally, 


258  lALKS    ON    MAJJUEES. 

■will  have  lo  raise  his  own  stock.  He  can  rarely  buy  well-bred  ani- 
mals to  fatten.  A  good  farmer  must  be  a  good  farmer  throughout. 
He  can  not  be  good  in  spots.  His  land  must  be  drained,  well- 
worked,  and  free  from  weeds.  If  he  crops  heavily  he  must  manure 
heavily,  and  to  d(i  this  he  must  feed  liberally — and  he  can  not 
atford  to  feed  iilxTuUy  unless  he  has  good  stock. 

"  1  have,  my.self,  no  doul)t  but  you  are  right  on  this  point,''  said 
the  Doctor,  "  but  all  this  takts  time.  Suppose  a  farmer  becomes 
satislied  that  the  manure  he  makes  is  not  rich  enough.  To  tell  him, 
when  he  is  an.xious  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  potatoes  next  year,  that 
be  must  go  to  work  and  improve  his  stock  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
swine,  and  then  l)ny  bran  and  oil-cake  to  make  richer  manure,  is 
somiwhal  tantalizing." 

This  is  true,  and  in  sndi  a  case,  instead  of  adding  nitrogen  and 
phosplioric  acid  to  his  manure  in  tlic  shape  of  bran,  oil-cake,  etc., 
he  can  buy  nitrogen  and  pliosphoric  acid  in  guano  or  in  nitrate  of 
soda  and  sni)erpliospliate.  This  gives  him  richtT  manure  ;  which 
is  precisely  what  he  wants  for  his  potatoes.  His  potir  manure  i3 
not  so  much  deficient  in  poLa.sh  as  in  nitrogen  and  jjliosphoric  acid, 
and  consetpirntly  it  is  nitrogen  and  plios|)horic  acid  that  he  will 
probably  need  to  make  his  soil  capable  of  producing  a  large  crop 
of  potatoes. 

I  have  seen  Peruvian  guano  extensively  used  on  pf)tatoes,  and 
almost  always  with  good  eirect.  My  first  experience  with  it  in  this 
country,  was  in  18o'2.  Four  acres  of  pot:itoes  were  planted  on  a 
two-year-old  clover-sod,  plowed  in  the  spring.  On  two  acres, 
Peruvian  guano  was  sown  broalcast  at  the  rate  of  300  lbs.  per  acre 
and  harrowed  in.  The  potatoes  were  planted  May  10.  On  the 
other  two  acres  no  manure  of  any  kind  was  used,  though  treated 
exactly  alike  in  every  other  respect.     The  result  was  as  follows: 

No  manure 11^  bushels  per  acre. 

30t»  ll)s.  Peruvian   gtiano S*^ 

Tiie  guano  cost,  here,  about  3  cents  a  lb.,  and  consequently  nine 

dollars' worth  of  guano  gave  84  bushels  of  potatoes.    The  potatoes 

were  all  .'^ound  and  good,  but  where  the  guano  was  used,  they  were 

larger,  with  scarcely  a  small  one  amongst  tiiem. 

In  1857,  I  made  the  following  experiments  on  potatoes,  in  the 
same  field  on  which  the  preceding  exiieriment  was  made  in  18.')2. 

In  this  case,  as  before,  the  land  was  a  two-year-old  clover-sod.  It 
was  plowed  about  the  first  of  May,  and  harrowed  until  it  was  in  a 
gootl  mellow  condition.     The  potatoes  were  planted  in  bills  3i 


NfAXUKKS    FOR   rOTATOKS. 


259 


feet  apart  each  way.    Tlie  following  table  shows  the  manures  used 
and  the  yield  of  ]><)tatoc*s  per  acre. 

EXPEKIMKNTS     O.V     POTATOES     AT     MoKETON     FaBM, 


1>r~i  iiiiTiMN 


■  c  Manure.-*  v*zit.   > 

AI'I'UKU   I-EH  Al'K): 


1)    OIASTITIK? 


^•1 
II 


No  manure i>5 

151)  lb!'.  Hulphatc  of  ammonia 14<) 

;«)  li)i«.  7<a|MTplii)!<plmt<-  of  lime l."J2 

150  lb!<.  ^ull)hato  uf  animouiu,  and  SUO  lbs.   8U|>or[>huH 

I     pimte  of  linic 179 

401  lb?*,  of  uiil<ath«<l  xv.H)d-a«lies |  HW 

lOOIbrt.  pla.-«t(.T,  iirvp-uni.  or  sulplmti' of  limo,)  101 

400lb^.  UDl.achi-d'«oo<l-:ishir' an  1  lai  lb.".  pluHter i  110 

400  lb!<.  uiili-achcd   \vuo(i-a>lic-!<.   V*i  lbi«.  i«ulplmto  of  am- 

'     nioiiia.  .ind  l(>i>  lb:*,  plii^t.r 109 

300  lbi$.  rupiTpbo-ipbal-!  <>f  lime,  l.'i  I  Iba.  fiilphato  of  am- 

I    niouia  and  lOO  lb;*.  iinb-acbL-d  woodaxlii-H l.X 


1^ 

^1 


45 


H4 


The  superpliosphate  of  lime  w;is  made  expressly  for  experimen- 
tal |>urp(ises,  from  calcined  bones,  ground  line,  and  mixed  with 
stil|)huric  acid  in  the  proper  prnportion.s  to  convert  all  the  pho.s- 
piiate  of  lime  of  the  bont-s  into  the  sDliible  sup  Tphospliatc.  It  wa«i 
a  purely  min  ral  article,  fn-e  from  ammoiiii  and  other  organic 
matt  -r.     It  co>t  about  two  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 

Tlie  manures  were  deposited  in  the  hill,  covered  with  an  inch  or 
two  of  soil,  and  tlie  seed  then  pl:inle<l  on  the  top.  Where  supcr- 
piiospiiate  of  lime  or  sidp'.iate  of  ammonia  was  u.sed  in  conjunction 
with  ashes,  tiie  as'.ies  were  tir>t  deposited  in  the  hill  and  covered 
with  a  little  soil,  and  then  the  superphosphate  or  sulphate  of  am- 
monia placed  on  the  top  and  covered  with  soil  before  the  seed  was 
planted.  Notwitlist;mding  this  precaution,  the  rain  washed  the 
sul|)liate  of  ammoni.i  into  the  a.>hes,  and  decomposition,  witii  loss 
of  ammonia,  was  the  result.  This  will  account  tor  tlie  less  yield 
on  plot  8  than  on  plot  2.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  sown 
tlie  ashes  bro.idcast,  but  some  previous  experiments  with  Peruvian 
guano  on  potatoes  indicated  that  it  was  liest  to  apply  guano  in  the 
hill,  carefully  coverincr  it  with  soil  to  prevent  it  injuring  the  .seed, 
than  to  sow  it  broadcast.  It  was  for  this  reason,  and  for  the  greater 
convenience  in  sowing,  that  the  manures  were  applied  in  the  lull. 

Tlie  ash  of  potatoes  consists  of  about  50  per  cent  of  potasii,  and 
this  fact  has  induced  many  writers  to  recommend  ashes  as  a  manure 
for  this  crop.     It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  in  this  instance,  at 


260  TALKS    ON   MAJfUEES. 

least,  they  have  very  little  eflfect,  400  lbs.  giving  an  increase  of  only 
five  bushels  per  acre.  One  hundred  pounds  of  plaster  per  acre  gave 
an  in 'rease  of  six  bushels.  Plaster  and  ashes  combined,  an  increase 
per  acre  of  15  busheLs. 

One  fact  is  clearly  brought  out  by  these  experiments  :  that  this 
soil,  which  has  been  under  cultivation  without  manure  for  many 
years,  is  not,  relatively  to  other  constituents  of  crops,  deticieiit  iu 
potash.  Had  such  been  the  case,  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  and 
supcrphospiiateof  lime — manures  wliich  coataiu  no  potasli — would 
not  have  given  an  increase  of  84  bushels  of  potatoes  j)er  acre. 
There  was  sufficient  potash  in  the  soil,  in  an  available  condition, 
for  179  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  ;  and  the  reason  wliy  the  soil 
without  manure  produced  only  95  bushels  per  acre,  was  owing  to 
a  deficiency  of  ammonia  and  phosphates. 

Since  tljese  experiments  were  made,  Dr.  Voelcker  and  otiiers  have 
nvide  similar  ones  iu  England.  Tlie  results  on  the  whole  all  point 
in  one  direction.  They  show  that  the  manures  most  valuable  for 
potatoes  are  thosj  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  that 
occasionally  potash  is  also  a  useful  addition. 

"There  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  know,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  Admittmg  that  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  are  the 
most  important  elements  of  plant-food,  hovv  many  bushels  of  po- 
tatoes should  we  be  likely  to  get  from  a  judicious  application  of 
these  manures?" 

"Tliere  is  no  way,"  said  I,  "of  getting  at  this  with  any  degree 
of  certauny.  The  numerous  experiments  that  have  been  made  in 
England  seem  to  show  tliat  a  given  quantity  of  manure  will  produce 
a  larger  increase  on  poor  land  than  on  land  in  better  condition." 

In  England  potatoes  are  rarely  if  ever  planted  without  manure, 
and  the  land  selected  for  tliis  crop,  even  witliout  manure,  would 
usually  be  in  better  condition  than  the  average  potato  land  of  this 
section,  and  consequently  a  given  amount  of  manure,  applied  to 
potatoes  here,  would  be  likely  to  do  more  good,  up  to  a  certain 
point,  than  the  same  amount  would  in  England. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  the  cxpenments  that  have  been  made  in 
England : — 

In  tlie  Transactions  of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of 
Scotland  for  1873  is  a  prize  essay  on  "  Experiments  upon  Potatoes, 
with  Potash  Salts,  on  Light  Land,"  by  Charles  D.  Hunter,  F.  C.  S., 
made  on  the  firm  of  William  Lawson,  in  Cumberland.  Mr.  Hun- 
ter "  was  cliarircd  witli  the  manuring  of  the  farm  and  tiic  purehas- 
inur  of  cliemical  maimres  to  the  annual  value  of  £2,000,"  or  say 
110,000. 


MANLKES    FOK    POTATOES.  261 

"  Potatoes,"  says  Mr.  Hunter,  "  were  hirgclj'-  growu  on  the  farm, 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  suIBcieney  of  farni-yurcl  manure,  potash 
naturally  suggested  itsdf  is  a  necessary  constituent  of  a  chemical 
potato-manure.  The  soil  was  light  and  gravelly,  with  an  open 
subsoil,  and  the  rainfall  from  29  to  38  inches  a  year." 

Tiie  first  .>^eries  of  experiments  was  made  in  18G7.  The  follow- 
ing are  some  of  the  results  : — 

Bushels  per  acre. 

No  manure 2:il 

4  cwl.  mineral  6Uj)erphospliate 225 

4  ewt.  mineral  suporphosphatc  and |  ,^t^ 

4  cwt.  of  uiuriatf  of  potash \  "'^ 

154  tons  farm-yard  manure 293 

"That  does  not  say  mueli  for  potash  r.nd  superphosphate,"  said 
the  Deacon.  "  The  superphosphate  only  produced  four  bushels 
more  than  the  no  manure,  and  the  ptuash  and  superphosphate 
only  fifteen  bushels  more  than  the  superphosphate  alone." 

It  may  be  worth  while  mentioning  that  one  of  the  experimental 
plots  this  year  was  on  a  head-land,  "  where  the  cattle  frcriuently 
stand  tor  shelter."  This  plot  was  dressed  with  only  eight  and  a 
half  tons  of  manure,  and  the  crop  was  over  427  bushels  per  acre, 
while  a  plot  alongside,  without  manure,  produced  only  163  bushels 
per  acre. 

"  That  shows  the  importance."  said  the  Deacon,  "  of  planting 
potatoes  on  rich  land,  rather  than  to  plant  on  poor  land  and  try  to 
make  it  rich  by  applying  manure  directly  to  the  crop." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  results  in  1868  : 

Bus  f  I  el  X  per  acre. 
1.     No  manure 232 

(  4  cwt.  superphosphate | 

2. -I  2    "     muriate  of  potash [-340 

(2    "    sulphate  of  ammonia ) 

3 .     20  tons  farm  yard  manure 342 

.    (  4  cwt.  superphosphate |  274 

*•  I  4    "    muriate  of  potash j 

"Here  again,"  said  the  Doctor,  "superphosphate  and  potash 
alone  give  an  increas?  of  only  forty-two  bushels  per  acre,  while  on 
plot  2,  where  two  hundre  1  weight  of  muriate  of  potash  is  substi- 
tuted by  two  hundre  1  weight  of  sulpliatc  of  ammonia,  the  increase 
is  108  busliels  per  acre.  It  certainly  looks  as  thcmgh  a  manure  for 
potato  's,  so  far  as  yield  is  concerned,  should  be  rich  in  available 
nitrogen." 


262  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  results  in  1869 : 

Bushels  per  acre. 
1.     No  munurc *.     176 

(4  cwt.  superphosphate "1 
}     "     eulphate  of  majjnesia lo^^ 
2    "     muriate  of  potash f*'^ 
2    "     sulphate  of  ammonia J 

3.     4  cwt.  8U|)erpliosphate 189 

_.    (  4  cwt.  superphospliate )  oqi 

(2    "     sulphate  of  ammonia j 

(  4  cwt.  8uper|)hosphate i 

5. -(2    "      muriate  of  potash >-340 

(2    "      8uli>hate  of  ammonia ) 

g    (  4  cwt.  8Uiierpho.sphale [  oig 

■j2    "      muriate  of  potash j 

"Tlii.'?  is  a  very  interesting  experiment,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"Siipcrpliospliate  alone  gives  an  increase  of  thirtct'n  husliels. 
Siipcrpliospliato  and  potash  an  increase  of  seventy-three  bushels. 
The  potash,  tliereforc,  gives  an  inirease  of  si.xly  bushels.  Super- 
phospliate  n/id  ammonia  give  twelve  bushels  more  than  superphos- 
pliatc  alone,  and  the  reason  it  does  not  produce  a  better  crop  is 
owing  to  a  deficiency  of  potash.  When  this  is  supplied  the  am- 
monia gives  an  increase  (plots  5  and  6)  of  ninety-one  bushels  per 
acre." 

In  1870  the  aliove  experiments  were  repeated  on  the  same  land, 
with  the  same  genenil  results. 

In  1871  some  cxperiinenis  were  made  on  a  sharp,  gravelly  soil, 
wliicli  had  been  over-cropped,  and  was  in  poor  condition.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  results: — 

Busfich  prr  acre. 

,    j  9  cwt.  superphosphate (  ,  o- 

■|3    "     sulphate  of  ammonia f   ^ 

9  ewt.  su[)erphospliatc. 


(  9  ewt.  su[)erphospliatc i 

2.  <  31  "     muriate  of  pota.sh 1204 

(3    "     sulpliite  of  ammonia ) 

3.  No  manure 70 

{  9  ewt.  supcrpho.sphate ) 

4.  -j  3i  "     muriate  of  pota.sti 1205 

(3    "    sulphate  of  ammonia ) 

5.  20  tons  farm-yard  manure 197 

"  On  this  poor  soil,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  ammonia  and  super- 
pliospiiate  gave  an  increase  of  IIG  bushels  per  acre;  and  3^  hun- 
dred weight  of  muriate  of  potash  an  increa.se,  on  one  plot,  of 
eighteen  bushels,  and  on  the  other  nineteen  bushels  per  acre." 

In  tiic  same  year,  1S71,  another  set  of  e.xperiments  was  made  on 
a  better  and  more  loamy  soil,  which  had  been  in  trra.ss  for  several 
years.  In  136!)  it  was  sown  for  hay,  and  in  1870  was  broken  up 
and  sown  to  oats,  and  the  next  spring  planted  with  potatoes.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  results : 


MANLRES    F(»K    TOTATOES.  263 

Biushcls  ])er  acre. 

I  6i  c wt.  superphosphate | 

l.-|2i     "     inuiiale  of  potash >-321 

("21     "     8iilpbalf  of  armuoiiia ) 

o    i  tii  cwt.  8iipirpliot;i)bute (^  .,tjg 

"(24     "     t<ulphatc  of  ammonia )~ 

3.     No  iiianurt- 252 

-    3  6i  ewt.  suiterphosphatc *  ... , 

*■  )  2i     ••     muriate  of  pctasb    ) 

5.  2i  cwt.  fuliiliale  ot  auimuiiia 238 

6.  Lj  tons  farm-} aid  manure 3t>5 

"  It  is  curious,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  tiic  plot  with  sulphate  of 
ammonia  alone  sliould  produce  less  than  the  no-manure  plot." 

"The  sulphate  of  anunonia,"  said  I,  "may  have  injured  the 
seed,  or  it  may  have  produced  too  luxuriant  a  growth  of  vine." 

Another  series  of  experiments  was  m.ide  on  another  portion  of 
the  sjime  field  in  1871.  The  "no-manure"  plot  produced  337 
bushels  per  acre.  Manures  of  various  kinds  were  used,  hut  the 
largest  yield,  351  iiushels  per  acre,  was  from  superpliosphate  and 
sulphate  of  ammonia;  fourteen  tons  barn-yard  manure  prod;  ce 
340  bushels  per  acre;  and  Mr.  Iluntir  remarks:  "It  is  evident 
that,  when  the  produce  of  the  unmanured  soil  n^aches  nine  tons 
[336  bushels]  per  acre,  there  is  but  little  scope  for  manure  of  any 
kind." 

"  I  do  not  sec,"  .<5aid  the  Doctor,  "  that  you  have  answered  my 
question,  but  I  suppose  that,  with  potatoes  at  fifty  cents  a  bushel, 
and  wheat  at  $1.50  per  bushel,  artificial  manures  can  be  more 
profitably  used  on  potatoes  than  on  wheat,  and  the  same  is  prob- 
ably true  of  oats,  barley,  corn,  etc." 

I  have  long  been  of  the  opinion  that  artificial  manures  cnn  be 
applied  to  potatoes  with  more  profit  than  to  any  other  ordinary 
farm-crop,  for  the  simple  rea.son  that,  in  this  country,  potatoes,  on 
the  average,  command  relatively  high  prices. 

For  instance,  if  average  land,  without  manure,  will  produce  fif- 
teen bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  and  100  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  a 
given  quantity  of  manure  costing,  say  if>'2~),  w  ill  double  the  crop, 
we  have,  in  the  one  case,  an  inrreasc  of: — 

15  bushels  of  wheat  at  11.50 $22.50 

15  cwt.  of  straw 3. .50 

?2fi.OO 

Cost  of  manure 25.00 

Profit  from  ueing  manure f  1.00 

A.nd  in  the  other: — 

100  bushels  of  potatoes  at  50  cents ^.W.OO 

Cost  of  manure ..  25.00 

Profit  from  using  manure :f25.00 


264  TALKS  ON  ^rAxrRES. 

The  only  question  is,  whether  the  same  quantity  of  the  right 
kind  of  manure  is  as  likely  to  double  the  potato  crop  as  to  double 
the  wheat  crop,  when  botli  are  raised  on  average  land. 

"  It  is  not  an  easy  matter,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  double  the  yield 
of  potatoes." 

"  Neither  is  it,"  said  I,  "  to  double  the  yield  of  wheat,  but  both 
can  be  done,  provided  you  start  low  enough.  If  your  land  is  clean, 
and  well  worked,  and  dry,  and  only  produces  ten  Imshels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  there  is  no  ditBculty  in  makin;::  it  produce  twenty  bushels; 
and  so  of  potatoes.  If  the  land  be  dry  and  well  cultivated,  and, 
barring  the  bugs,  produces  without  manure  75  bushels  per  acre, 
there  ought  to  lie  no  dilliculty  in  making  it  produce  150  bushels. 

"  But  if  your  land  produces,  without  manure,  150  bushels,  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  make  it  produce  300  bushels.  Fortunately,  or 
unfortunately,  our  land  is,  in  most  cases,  poor  enough  to  start 
■with,  and  we  ought  to  be  able  to  use  manure  on  potatoes  to  great 
advantage." 

'•  But  will  not  the  manure,"  asked  the  Deacon,"  injure  the  quality 
of  the  potatoes?" 

I  think  not.  So  far  a^  my  experiments  and  experience  go,  the 
judicious  use  of  good  manure,  on  dry  land,  favors  tiie  perfect  ma- 
turity of  the  tubers  and  the  formation  of  starch.  I  never  manured 
potatoes  so  highly  as  I  did  last  year  (1877).  and  never  had  potatoes 
of  such  high  quality.  They  cook  white,  dry,  and  mealy.  We 
made  furrows  two  and  a  half  feet  apart,  and  spread  ricli,  well-rotted 
manure  in  the  furrows,  and  planted  the  potatoes  on  top  of  the  ma- 
nure, and  covered  them  with  a  plow.  In  our  climate,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  it  would  be  l)etter  to  apply  the  manure  to  the  land  for 
potatoes  the  autumn  previous.  If  sod  land,  spread  the  manure  on 
the  surface,  and  let  it  lie  exposed  all  winter.  If  stubble  land, 
plow  it  in  the  fall,  and  then  spread  tlie  manure  in  the  fall  or  win- 
ter, and  plow  it  under  in  the^ spring. 


WHAT   f-ROrs    SIIOILI)    MANUHE    HE    APPI.IEU    TO.      265 


0  il  A  !•  T  E  R      XXXII. 
WHAT    CROPS    SHOULD     MANURE    BE    APPLIED    TO. 

"  It  will  not  do  any  harm  on  any  crop,"  said  the  Deacon,  "but 
on  my  farm  it  seems  to  be  most  convenient  to  draw  it  out  in  the 
winter  or  spring,  and  plow  it  under  for  corn.  I  do  not  know  any 
farmer  except  you  wlio  uses  it  on  potatoes." 

My  own  rule  is  to  apply  manure  to  those  crops  wliich  require 
the  most  labor  per  acre.  But  I  am  well  aware  that  this  rule  will 
have  many  exceptions.  For  instance,  it  will  often  i)ay  well  to  use 
manure  on  barley,  and  yet  barlcv  requires  far  less  labor  than  corn 
or  potatoes. 

People  who  let  out,  and  tho.-JC  who  work  f.irms  "on  shares" 
seldom  understand  this  matter  clearly.  I  knew  a  farmer,  who  last 
year  let  out  afield  of  good  land,  that  had  been  in  corn  the  previous 
year,  to  a  man  to  sow  to  i)arley,  and  afterwards  to  wheat  on  "  the 
halves."  Anotlu-r  part  of  tiie  farm  was  taken  b}'  a  man  to  plant 
corn  and  potatoes  on  similar  terms,  and  another  man  put  in  several 
acres  of  cabbage,  beets,  carrots,  and  onions  on  halves.  It  never 
seemed  to  occur  to  either  of  them  that  the  conditions  were  un- 
equal. The  expense  of  digging  and  harvesting  the  potato-crop 
alone  was  greater  than  the  whole  cost  of  the  b  irley-crop  ;  while, 
after  the  barley  was  otf,  the  land  Avas  plowed  once,  harrowed,  and 
sowed  to  winter  wheat ;  and  nothing  more  has  to  be  done  to  it 
imtil  the  next  harvest.  With  the  garden  crops,  the  difference  is 
even  still  more  striking.  The  labor  expended  on  one  acre  of 
onions  or  carrots  would  put  in  ami  harvest  a  ten-acre  field  of 
barley.  If  the  tenant  gets  pay  for  his  labor,  the  landlord  would 
get  say  $5  an  acre  for  his  barley  land,  and  |50  for  his  carrot  and 
onion  land.  I  am  pretty  sure  the  tenants  did  not  see  the  matter 
in  this  light,  nor  the  farmer  either. 

Crops  which  require  a  large  amount  of  labor  can  only  be  grown 
on  very  rich  land.  Our  successful  market-gardeners,  seed-growers, 
and  nurserymen  understand  this  matter.  They  must  get  great 
crops  or  they  cannot  pay  their  labor  bill.  And  the  principle  is  ap- 
plicable to  ordinary  farm  crops.  Some  of  them  require  much  more 
labor  than  otliers,  and  should  never  be  grown  unless  the  land  is 
12 


266  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

capable  of  producing  a  maximum  yield  per  acre,  or  a  close  ap- 
proximation to  it.  As  a  rule,  the  least- paying  crops  arc  those  wliich 
require  the  least  labor  per  acre.  Farmers  are  afraid  to  expend 
much  money  for  labor.  They  are  wise  in  this,  unless  all  tlie  con- 
ditions are  favorable.  But  when  they  have  land  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation — dramed,  clean, mellow,  and  rich — it  would  usually  pay 
them  well  to  grow  crops  which  require  the  most  labor. 

And  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that,  as  compared  with  nearly 
all  other  countries,  our  labor  is  expensive.  No  matter  how  cheap 
our  land  may  be,  we  can  not  afford  to  waste  our  labor.  It  is  too 
costly.  If  men  would  work  for  nothing,  and  board  themselves, 
there  are  localities  where  we  could  perhaps  alTord  to  keep  sheep 
that  shear  two  pounds  of  wool  a  year;  or  cows  that  make  75  lbs. 
of  butter.  We  might  make  a  profit  out  of  a  wheat  crop  of  8  bush- 
els per  acre,  or  a  corn-crop  of  15  bushels,  or  a  potato-croj)  of  50 
bushels.  But  it  cannot  be  done  with  labor  costing  from  $1.00  to 
$1.25  pL'r  d.iy.  And  I  do  not  believe  labor  will  cost  much  less  in 
our  time.  The  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  employ  it  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. Machinery  will  help  us  to  some  extent,  but  I  can  see  no 
real  escape  from  our  difficulties  in  this  matter,  except  to  raise  larger 
crops  per  acre. 

In  ordinary  farming,  "  larger  crops  per  acre  "  means  fewer  acres 
planted  or  sown  with  grain.  It  means  more  summer  fallow,  more 
grass,  cl:)ver,  peas,  mustard,  coleseed,  roots,  and  other  crops  that 
are  consumed  on  the  farm.  It  means  more  thorough  cultiva- 
tion. It  means  clean  and  rich  land.  It  means  husbanding  the 
ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  which  is  brought  to  the  soil,  as  well  as 
that  which  is  developed  from  the  soil,  or  which  the  soil  attracts 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  using  it  to  grow  a  crop  every  .second, 
third,  or  fourtli  year,  instead  of  every  year.  If  a  piece  of  land  will 
grow  25  bushels  of  corn  every  year,  we  should  aim  to  so  manage 
it,  that  it  will  grow  50  every  other  year,  or  75  every  third  year,  or, 
if  tiie  climate  is  capable  of  doing  it,  of  rtkising  100  bushels  per  acre 
every  fourtli  year. 

Tiieorotically  this  can  bo  done,  and  in  one  of  ]Mr.  Lawes'  experi- 
ments he  did  it  practically  in  the  case  of  a  summer-fallow  for 
wheat,  the  one  crop  in  two  years  giving  a  little  more  than  two 
crops  sown  in  succession.  But  on  sandy  land  we  should  probably 
lose  a  portion  of  the  liberated  ]i!ant-food,  unless  we  grew  a  crop  of 
some  kind  every  year.  And  the  matter  organized  in  the  renovat- 
ing crop  could  not  be  rendered  completely  available  for  the 
next  crop.  In  tJie  end,  however,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get  it  with 
little  or  no  loss.     How  best  to  accomplish  this  result,  is  one  of  the 


WHAT   CROPS    SllOin.I)    MANl  RE    RK    APPLIED    TO,      2Cu 

most  interesting  and  iniporliiiit  i  ilds  for  sciontitic  invcstifj^ationand 
practical  experiment.  We  know  enongli,  liowever,  to  he  sure  that 
there  is  a  great  advantage  in  wailing  until  there  is  a  sutHcient  ac- 
cumulation of  available  i)]ant-food  in  the  soil  to  produce  a  large 
yield,  before  sowing  a  crop  that  requires  much  labor. 

If  we  do  not  want  to  wait,  we  must  apply  manure.  If  we  have 
no  barn-yard  or  stable-manure,  we  must  buy  artificials. 

HOW    AND    WHEN    .MANL'RE    SHOULD    BE    APPLIED. 

This  is  not  a  merely  theoretical  or  chemical  question.  We  must 
take  into  consideration  the  cost  of  application.  Also,  whether  we 
apply  it  at  a  busy  or  a  leisure  season.  I  have  seen  it  recommended, 
for  instance,  to  spread  manure  on  meadow-land  immediately  after 
the  hay-crop  was  removed.  Now,  I  think  this  may  be  theoretically 
very  good  advice.  But,  on  my  farm,  it  would  throw  the  work 
right  into  the  midst  of  wheat  and  barlej-  harvests ;  and  I  should 
make  the  theory  bend  a  little  to  my  convenience.  The  meadows 
would  have  to  wait  until  we  h;ul  got  in  the  crops — or  until  harvest 
operations  were  stopped  by  rain. 

I  mention  this  merely  to  show  the  complex  character  of  this 
question.  On  my  own  farm,  tiic  most  kisure  season  of  the  year, 
except  the  winter,  is  immediately  after  wheat  harvest.  And,  as 
already  stated,  it  is  at  this  time  that  John  Jolinston  draws  out  his 
manure  and  spreads  it  on  grass-land  intended  to  be  plowed  up  the 
following  spring  for  corn. 

If  the  manure  was  free  from  weed-s'^eds,  many  of  our  best  farm- 
ers, if  t'.iey  had  some  well-rotted  manure  like  this  of  John  John- 
ston's, would  draw  it  out  and  spread  it  on  their  fields  prepared  for 
winter-wheat. 

In  this  case,  I  should  draw  out  the  manure  in  heaps  and  then 
spread  it  carefully.  Then  liarrow  it,  and  if  the  harrow  pulls  the 
manure  into  heaps,  spread  them  and  harrow  again.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  import;ince  to  spread  manure  evenly  and  mix  it  thor- 
oughly with  the  soil.  If  tliis  work  is  well  done,  and  the  manure 
is  well-rotted,  it  will  not  interfere  with  the  drill.  And  the  manure 
will  be  near  the  surface,  where  the  young  roots  of  the  wheat  can 
get  hold  of  it. 

"  You  must  recollect,"  said  tlie  Doctor,  "  that  the  roots  can  only 
take  up  the  manure  when  in  solution." 

"  It  must  also  be  remembered,"  said  I,  "  that  a  light  rain  of,  say, 
only  half  an  inch,  pours  down  on  to  the  manures  spread  on  an 
acre  of  land  about  14,000  gallons  of  water,  or  about  56  tons.    If 


268  Talks  on  manures. 

you  liaw  put  on  8  tons  of  manure,  lialf  an  inch  of  rain  would  fur- 
nisli  .1  gillon  of  water  to  cacli  pound  of  manure.  It  is  notditticult 
to  understand,  therefore,  how  manure  applied  on  tlic  surface,  or 
near  the  surface,  can  he  taken  up  hy  the  younji  roots." 

"  Tliat  puts  the  matter  in  a  new  light  to  me,"  said  the  Deacon. 
"  If  tlie  manure  was  plowed  under,  five  or  six  inches  deep,  it 
would  require  an  abundant  rain  to  reach  the  manure.  And  it  is 
not  one  j'ear.  in  five  tluit  we  get  rain  enough  to  tlioroughly  soak 
tiie  soil  for  several  weeks  after  sowing  the  wlieat  in  August  or 
September.  And  when  it  does  come,  the  season  is  so  far  advanced 
that  the  wheat  plants  make  little  growth." 

.My  own  opinion  is,  that  on  clayey  land,  manure  will  act  much 
quicker  if  aiiplicd  on,  or  near  the  surface,  than  if  plowed  under. 
Cliy  mixed  with  manure  arrests  or  checks  decomposition.  Sand 
has  no  such  elTi-ct.  If  anything,  it  favors  a  more  active  decompo- 
sition, and  hence,  manure  acts  much  more  rapidly  on  .sandy 
land  than  on  clay  land.  And  I  think,  as  a  nde,  where  a  farmer 
advocates  the  application  of  manure  on  the  surface,  it  will  be 
found  that  he  occupies  clay  land  or  a  heavy  loam  ;  while  those 
who  oppose  the  practice,  and  think  manure  should  be  plowed 
under,  occupy  sandy  land  or  .sandy  loam. 

"  J.  J.  Thomas,"  said  I,  "once  gave  me  a  new  idea." 

"Is  that  anything  strange,"  remarked  tlie  Deacon.  "Are  ideas 
so  scarce  among  you  agricultural  writers,  that  you  can  recollect 
who  first  suggested  them  ? " 

"Be  that  as  it  may,"  said  I,  "this  idea  Ikls  had  a  decided  influ- 
enci'  on  my  farm  practice.  I  will  not  sj»y  that  the  idea  originated 
with  Mr.  Thomas,  but  at  any  rate,  it  was  new  to  me.  I  had  alwa3'3 
been  in  the  habit,  when  spading  in  manure  in  the  garden,  of  putting 
the  manure  in  the  trench  and  covering  it  up ;  and  in  plowing  it  in, 
I  thought  it  was  desirable  to  put  it  at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow 
where  the  next  furrow  w(»ul(l  cover  it  up." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  what  objection  is  there  to  the 
practice  V  " 

"  I  am  not  objoctiuir  to  the  practice.  I  do  not  say  tliat  it  is  not  a 
good  plan.  It  may  often  be  the  only  practicable  method  of  a])ply- 
ing  manure.  Bu«  it  is  well  to  know  that  there  is  aometimex  a  better 
plan.  The  idea  that  Mr.  Thomas  gave  me,  was,  that  it  was  very 
desiralde  to  break  up  the  manure  fine,  spread  it  eveidy,  and  thor- 
oughly mix  it  with  the  soil. 

"  After  the  manure  is  spread  on  the  soil,"  said  Mr.  Thoma.s, "  and 
before  plowing  it  in,  great  benefit  is  derived  by  thoroughly  harrow- 
ing the  top-soil,  thus  breaking  finely  both  the  manure  and  the  soil, 


What  cuors  sitoii.n  Mwi  ui:  luc  aii'mki*  to,    2G0 

auil  miviiii;  Uicin  will  Idfji-llior.  Another  way  for  llic  perfect  ilif- 
fusion  of  till'  luanure  unionir  tiic  parlii  les  of  earth,  is,  to  spnad 
the  inaiiure  in  aiituimi,  so  thal-jill  the  raius  of  this  season  may  dis- 
solve the  soluble  portions  and  carry  them  down  among  the  parti- 
cles, where  they  are  absorbeil  and   retained  for  the  irrowin-j  eroj). 

"In  experiments,"  continues  Mr.  Thomas,  *' when  the  manure 
fur  corn  was  thus  applied  in  autumn,  has  afforded  a  yield  of  about 
70  bushels  i>er  acre,  when  the  same  amount  applied  in  spring,  gave 
only  50  bushels.  A  thin  coating  of  manure  applied  to  winter- 
wheat  at  the  time  of  sowing,  and  was  harrowed  in,  has  increased 
the  crop  from  7  to  10  bushels  per  acre — and  in  addition  to  this,  by 
the  stmnirer  growth  it  lia.-<  caused,  as  well  as  by  the  |irotection  it 
has  atforded  to  the  surface,  it  lias  not  unfrequently  saved  the  crop 
from  parti.d  or  total  wint«'r-kiHing. 

"  In  case;  wher^  it  is  necessary  to  apply  coarse  manure?  at  once, 
much  may  be  done  in  lessening  the  evils  of  coarseness  by  artificially 
grinding  it  into  the  soil.  The  instrument  called  the  drag-roller — 
which  is  like  the  common  roller  set  stiff  so  as  not  to  revolve — has 
been  used  to  great  advantage  for  this  purpose,  by  passing  it  over 
the  surface  in  connection  with  the  Inrrow.  We  have  known  this 
treatment  to  effect  a  tiiorough  intermixture,  and  to  more  than 
doul)le  tiie  crop  obtained  by  common  management  with  common 
manure." 

TOP-DRESSING  WITH  MANURE. 


The  term  "  top-dressing"  usually  refers  to  sowing  or  spreading 
manures  on  the  growing  crop.  For  instance,  we  top-dress  pastures 
or  meadows  by  spreading  manure  o:i  the  surface.  If  we  sow  ni- 
trite of  s«)da,  or  guano,  «m  our  winter-wheat  in  the  spring,  that 
would  be  top-dressing.  We  often  sow  gypsum  on  clover,  and  on 
barley,  and  peas,  while  the  plants  are  growing  in  the  spring,  and 
this  is  toi>-dressing. 

"  If  the  cypsum  was  sown  broadcast  on  tlio  land  before  sowing 
the  seed,"  said  the  Deacon,"  would  not  that  be  top-dressing  also?" 

Strictly  speaking,  I  suppose  that  would  not  be  top-dressing. 

Top  dressing  in  the  sense  in  which  I  understand  the  term,  is 
scMom  adopted,  except  on  meadows  and  pastures  as  a  regular  sys- 
tem. It  is  an  after-thought.  We  have  sown  wheat  on  a  poor, 
sandy  knoll,  and  we  draw  out  some  manure  and  spread  on  it  in  the 
winter  or  early  spring;  or  we  top-dress  it  with  hen-manure,  or 
guano,  or  nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate.  I  do  not  say  that 
this  is  better  than  to  apply  the  manure  at  the  time  of  sowing  the 


270  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

wheat,  but  if  we  neglect  Id  do  so,  tlKii  top-drtssing  is  a  commend- 
abk'  prartice. 

Dr.  Vaelfkcr  reports  tlic  result  of  some  experiments  in  top-dress- 
ini,'  winler-wlieal  on  the  farm  of  tlie  Hoyal  Airricultunil  Collepe  at 
Cireueester,  En,i,'h»nd.  The  niaiiurcs  were  th x\y  sifted  and  nuxed 
with  about  ten  liiue.s  tlieir  weiirht  of  fine  soil,  and  sown  l)roa<lcast 
on  the  jyrrowing  wheat,  March  22.  A  fine  rain  (Kcurrcd  the  follow- 
inji  day,  and  washed  the  manure  into  the  soil.  The  following  is 
the  yield  per  acre  : — 

N>  >  manure 27  bushcla  and  UJH4  lbs.  of  straw. 

jso  Ills.  IVruviiin  t'uiuo 4n  "  "  2.'>7»5  "  " 

r.i">   ••     nitrate  f.f  sotlii 'M  "  <•  'MKi  "  *' 

!"«)   ••     nitnito  of  Mula,  and  HW  lbs.  of 

cdintnon  salt 4ni  "  '•  27H6  "  " 

14H  Ills.  I'rortor'H  whcttt-inanurc :RM  "  "  'JTidS  "  " 

•■>7.'   "          "                "            "        44i  "  "  »KR»  "  " 

4  tons  chalk-marl 27  "  "  1«72  "  " 

The  nvinuri's  in  e.ich  ca.^e  cost  $7. SO  jxr  acre,  except  the  larsre 
dose  of  IVoctor's  wlieal-tnanure,  which  cost  $11.70  per  acre.  The 
wheat  was  wortli  if  1.20  jwr  bushel.  Ix-avinij  the  value  of  the  straw 
out  of  the  (jues'ion,  t!ie  profit  from  the  use  of  the  lop  dressing  was  : 

With  irimno $.H.rO  jht  acre. 

"     nitrate  ..f  Rola..    0.00 

"     nitrate  of  himIu  mill  eonunoii  Halt (t.ItS 

"     4ls  llm.  wlu-atiii  iiiiirc 7.JM 

"     «r2    •'  "  10.10 

The  marl  did  no  good. 

The  nitrate  of  soda  and  c«>mmon  salt  conUiined  no  phosphoric 
acid,  and  yet  produced  an  excellent  eflect.  The  guano  and  the 
wheat  manure  cont.iined  phosphoric  aciil  a<  well  as  introgen,  and 
the  following  croj)  of  clover  woidd  be  likely  to  get  8on»e  benefit 
from  it. 

John  .Tolms;<Mi  wrote  in  1808.  "  I  have  u.sed  manim*  only  as  a 
top-dn>.'4sing  for  the  last  20  years,  and  I  do  think  one  loa<l,  used  in 
that  way,  is  worth  far  more  than  two  loads  plowed  under  on  our 
stiiriaud." 


MAMKES    C-N     l-hi;MANKNT    MKADOWS.  271 


C  II  A  PTE  i:     XXXIII. 

MANIUES    ON     I'KUMANKNT     MKADoWS    AND 
I'ASTIKES. 

In  this  tountry,  wluTr  labor  is  coinparativily  high,  and  hay 
often  connnaniU  a  gtKul  price,  a  goml,  pcriiiancnt  ini-adow  frc- 
(jurntly  atFonls  as  iniirli  nal  profit  as  any  othir  iM>rtion  of  the 
farm.  Now  that  we  liave  iriiod  iiio\vin<;-iiia('hiius,  l«'dd(.r>,  rakes, 
and  loading;  and  iinloadin,'  apparatus,  thi-  lahor  of  liay-mnkini^ 
Ls  jjreally  U'ss<-iu'd.  Thi'  only  dilliciilty  is  to  kin-p  up  and  incri'Jise 
the  annual  ijrowth  of  irood  j;r.iss. 

Numi'rou-*  rxperiinrnl-s  «)n  topdrrssing  nuailows  arc  reported 
from  year  t«i  year.  The  n-sulls.  of  course,  diffiT  considerably,  bcin^ 
influenced  by  the  soil  and  season.  The  profit  of  the  practice  de- 
pends very  much  on  the  price  of  liay.  In  tl»e  liAstern  States,  hay 
jrenenilly  coinman  b  a  higher  relati%'e  price  than  gniin,  and  it  not 
unfrcipiently  hap|K'ns  t!iat  wc  can  use  manure  on  gra.'^s  to  decided 
ail  vantage. 

The  celebrated  experiments  of  Messrs.  Lawes  &  Gilbert  with 
"  Manun's  on  Permanent  Meadow  land  "  were  comminced  in  1856, 
and  have  been  continut  d  on  the  .same  plots  every  year  since  that 
time. 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid,  Deacon,"  said  I,  as  tlie  old  gentleman 
commeDced  to  ixitton  up  his  coat,"  I  am  not  going  into  the  details 
of  these  wonderfid  experiments  ;  but  I  am  sure  you  will  be  inter- 
ested in  the  results  of  tlie  hrst  six  or  seven  years. 

The  following  table  explains  itself: 


272 


TALKS    ON    MANl  r.ES. 


■ 

U 

S"  * 

>• 

< 
a 

"a -St 

ft 

i 

5 

5    2 


»  cs  o  ^  oeo  •* 

o«  :s  ;r  T<  ■?•  •!<  ^ 

»-.  ^  -^  c  c «  55 

cc  CO  «-  =•.  c  w  f- 

'  <«•  ^  !S  «^5  o 


S.       «      O 


55    M 


S5    2? 


S    I    g    §    5|    S 

«-      S      S«      Q      oS      ?- 
o     ed     S:     2     t<S(     is 


»      I 


X       j;      «      X 


5»< 

NT 


i;5c 


1^ 


U 


S    l^J:. 


i  i 


2^ 

!;3 


s  s 

3    e: 


S    I    S    g    £| 

P      9      'V      S       lOa 


8    I? 


■;♦      c«      "»■      '!♦'?♦      O 

^    -"T    S    kjS    2 


11  111 


2  2  ys  s 
«  9  :^§  1 


S    52 


?         =         I        P 


ill  ii 


g  g 


■-^ 


:x 


=  a 
=  a  ? 


-  =  =  r  a  =  = 


,=    -Ei^ -«=  r£  re  ■:; 


IT. -3 


i-=E-§  =  «3 


3  -  -  -  c  a  — 


11' 


^^.l^^^-e 


CO'*  ' 


»0         r- 


e*      cc* 


i 


f 


MAVUKES    ttV    rKUMANKN'T    MKADOWS,  273 

TliPsf  arc  all  thi'  Ajj^ins  I  will  InuiliI  •  you  with.  The  "niixiHl 
mim-rul  nmmirt's"  coiisipteil  of  su|MTiiho.sphalf  of  lime  (composi'il 
of  150  lbs.  bone-a.sli  and  I'M  lbs.  sulphuric  acid,  sp.  gr.  1.7), ;]U(J  lbs. 
sulphate  of  |M»ta8h.  200  lbs.  sulphate  of  soda,  and  100  lbs.  sulphat.- 
if  njai^ncaia.  The  anuiu)nia-.>iulls  consisted  jf  cciual  parts  sulphate 
and  muriate  of  ammonia,  eonlnining  about  25  per  cent,  of  ammo- 
nia. The  manuri  s  were  sown  as  early  as  p(»ssible  in  the  sprint;, 
and,  if  the  weather  was  suitable,  st)mctimes  in  February.  Tiie 
farmyard-manure  was  spna  1  on  the*lanil,  in  the  first  year,  in  the 
.'^priiiL',  afterwards  in  November  or  December.  The  hay  was  cut 
froui  the  middle  to  the  last  of  June;  anil  the  aftermath  was  pas- 
tured olT  by  sheep  in  October. 

"  II  is  curious,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  400  lbs.  of  ammonia-sjilts 
should  give  as  jn^-al  an  inerca.se  in  the  yield  of  hay  the  fii-st  year 
as  14  tons  i»f  farmyard-manure,  but  the  second  year  tin-  farmyard- 
mau'.ire  comes  out  ileeidedly  ahead." 

"Tije  fannyanl-manure,"  .s;iitl  I,"  was  applieil  ever}*  year, at  the 
rite  of  14  u'ross  tons  per  acre,  for  eii:ht  years — \H'}i]  to  1H(;;J.  After 
186;{,  this  pU)t  wa«  left  williout  manure  of  any  kind.  The  averai^e 
yield  of  this  plo*.  durini:  the  lii-sl  8  years  was  4,s00  lbs.  of  hay  per 
acre. 

On  the  plot  dressi'd  wUh  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure  and  200 
lbs.  ammonia-Sidts,  the  average  yield  of  hay  for  8  years  was  5,544 
lbs.  \tor  acre.  Aft<T  the  eighth  year  the  farmyard-manure  was  dis- 
continued, and  during  the  next  twelve  years  tlie  yield  of  hay 
averaged  3,683  lbs.,  or  1,14"J  lbs.  more  tlian  the  continuously  unma- 
nured  plot. 

In  18.5!),  superphosphate  of  lime  was  used  alone  on  plot  3,  and 
has  been  continued  ever  since.  It  scenes  clear  that  this  land,  which 
had  been  in  pasture  or  me  idow  for  a  hundred  years  or  more,  was 
utjt  deficient  in  phosphates. 

''  It  does  not  seem,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  to  have  been  deficient  in 
anything.  The  twentieth  crop,  on  the  continuously  unmanured 
plot  was  nearly  IJ  ton  per  acre,  the  first  cutting,  and  nearly  |-ton 
tiie  second  cutting.  And  apparently  the  land  was  just  as  rich  in 
1875,  as  it  was  in  1850,  and  yet  over  25  tons  of  hay  had  been  cut 
and  nmared  from  the  land,  without  any  manure  being  returned. 
And  yet  we  are  told  that  hay  is  a  very  exhausting  crop.'" 

"Superphosphate  alone,"  .said  the  Doctor,  "did  very  little  to 
increase  the  yield  of  hay,  but  superphosphate  and  ammonia  jiro- 
duced  the  first  year,  1859,  over  a  ton  more  hay  per  acre  than  the 
siip<rphosphate  alone,  and  when  poVish  is  added  to  the  manure,  the 
yield  is  still  further  increased." 


274 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


"Answer  ine  one  question,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  and  let  us  leave 
the  subject.  In  the  light  uf  Uiese  and  other  experiments,  what  do 
you  consider  the  cheapest  and  best  manure  to  apply  to  a  perma- 
nent meadow  or  pasture?" 

"  Rich,  well-decomposed  farmyard  or  stable  manure,"  said  I, 
"and  if  it  is  not  rich,  apply  200  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  in 
addition.  This  will  mtike  it  rich.  Poor  manure,  made  from  straw, 
corn-stalks,  hay,  etc.,  is  poor  in  nitrogen,  and  comparativelj'  ricli 
in  potash.  The  nitrate  of  soda  will  supply  the  deficiency  of  ni- 
trogen. On  the  sea-shore  fi.sh  scrap  is  a  cijcaper  source  of  nitrogen, 
and  may  be  used  histead  of  the  nitrate  of  soda." 


CHAl'TElt     XXXIV. 


MANURES  FOR  SPECIAL  CROPS. 


MANURES    FOR   HOPS. 

"  For  hops,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  tliere  is  nothing  better  than  rich., 
well-decomposed  farmyard-manure — surii  manure  as  you  are  now 
making  from  your  pigs  tliat  are  bctlded  with  stable-manure.  " 

"  That  is  so,"  said  I,  "  anil  the  better  you  feed  your  horses  and 
pigs,  the  better  will  tiie  manure  be  for  hops.  In  England,  Mr. 
Paine,  of  Surrey,  made  a  series  of  experiments  with  different  ma- 
nures for  hops,  and,  as  the  result  of  four  years  trial,  reported  that 
rapccakc,  singly,  or  in  combination,  invariably  proved  tlie  best 
manure  for  hops.  In  this  country,  cotlon-sccd,  or  colton-seed- 
cak< ,  would  be  a  good  siihstitulc  for  the  rape-cake.  Whatever  ma- 
nure is  used  should  be  ust-d  liberally.  Hops  require  a  large  amount 
of  labor  per  acre,  and  it  is,  therefore,  specinlly  desirable  to  obtain 
a  large  yield  per  acre.  This  can  be  accomi)lished  only  by  the  most 
lavish  expenditure  of  manure.  And  all  experience  seems  to  show 
that  it  must  be  manure  rich  in,  nitrogen.  In  the  hop  districts  of 
England,  25  tons  of  rich  farmyard-manure  are  applied  per  acre  ; 
and  in  addition  to  this,  soot  and  rags,  both  rich  in  nitrogen,  have 
long  been  i)opular  auxiliaries.  Tlie  value  of  soot  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  contains  from  12  to  15  per  cent  of  sulphate  of  am- 
monia, and  the  fact  tliat  it  has  been  so  long  used  with  success  as  a 
manure  for  hops,  seems  to  prove  that  sulpliate  of  ammonia,  which 


MAMlv-KS    FOR    SrE<IAL    TROPS.  275 

can  now  Ik-  readily  oltlaincd,  coiiUl  be  used  to  advantage  by  our 
liop-j^rowers — say  at  ilie  rale,  in  addition  to  farui-yard  manure,  of 
000  lbs.  i)er  acrt,  sown  bro^ideast  early  in  the  spring. 

MANTRES    FOR    TOBACCO. 

Wlicn  tobacco  is  grown  for  wrappers,  it  is  desirable  to  get  a 
large,  strong  leaf.  The  richest  land  is  selected  for  tlie  crop,  and 
large  quantities  of  the  richest  and  most  stimulating  manures  are 
used. 

Like  cabbages,  this  crop  requires  a  large  amount  of  plant-food 
per  acre;  and,  liite  them,  it  can  only  l>e  grown  by  constant  and 
high  manuring.  More  manure  must  be  used  than  the  plants  can 
take  up  out  of  the  st)il,  and  hence  it  is,  that  !and  wliich  has  been 
used  for  growing  tobacco  for  some  years,  will  be  in  high  conditioa 
for  other  crops  without  further  manuring. 

Farm-yard  or  stable-manure,  must  be  the  mainstay  of  the  tobac- 
co-jilanter.  "With  this,  he  can  use  artificial  fertilizers  to  advantage 
— such  as  fish-scrap,  woollen-rags,  Peruvian  guano,  dried  blood, 
slaughter-house  offal,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  nitrate  of  soda,  etc. 

For  choice,  high-tlavored  smoking-tobacco,  the  grower  aims  to 
get  (luality  rather  tlian  quantity.  This  seems  to  depend  more  on 
the  land  and  the  climate  than  on  the  manures  used.  Superphos- 
phate of  lime  would  be  likely  to  prove  advantageous  in  favor- 
ing the  early  growth  and  maturity  of  the  crop.  And  in  raising 
tobacco-plants  in  the  seed-bed,  I  should  expect  good  results  from 
the  use  of  superphosphate,  raked  into  the  soil  at  the  rate  of  three 
or  four  lbs.  per  square  rod. 

MANURES    FOR   INDIAN    CORN. 

"We  know  less  about  the  manurial  requirements  of  Indian  corn, 
than  of  almost  any  otlier  crop  we  cultivate.  We  know  that  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  and  gra-;ses,  require  for  their  maximum  growth  a  lib- 
eral supply  of  available  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  And  sucii  facts  and 
experiments  as  we  have,  seem  to  indicate  that  the  same  is  also  true 
of  Indian  corn.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  as 
Indian  corn  belongs  to  the  same  botanical  order  as  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  rye,  timothy,  and  other  grasses,  the  general  manurial  require- 
ments would  be  the  same.  Such,  I  presume,  is  the  case ;  and  yet 
there  seem  to  be  some  facts  that  would  incline  us  to  place  Indian 
corn  with  the  leguminous  plants,  such  as  clover,  peas,  and  beans, 
rather  than  with  the  cereals,  wiieat,  barley,  oats,  etc. 

"  Why  so,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  Indian  com  does  not  have  much 
in  common  with  beans,  peas,  and  clover?  " 


f 


276  TALKS    OX    MANLKES. 

As  we  have  shown,  clover  can  get  more  nitrogen  out  of  the  soil, 
than  wlieat,  barley,  and  oats.  And  the  same  is  true  of  beans  and 
peas,  though  probably  not  tr)  so  great  an  extent. 

Now,  it  would  seem  that  Indian  corn  c  m  get  more  nitrogen  out 
of  a  soil,  than  wheat,  barley,  or  oats — and  to  tliis  extent,  at 
leiist,  tve  may  consider  Indian  corn  as  a  renovating  crop.  In  other 
wonls,  the  Indian  corn  <an  get  more  nitrogen  out  of  the  soil,  than 
wheat,  barley,  and  oats — and  when  we  feed  out  tiie  corn  and 
stalks  on  the  farm,  we  have  more  food  and  more  manure  than  if 
we  raised  and  fed  out  a  crop  of  oat.s,  barley,  or  wheat.  If  this 
idea  is  correct,  then  Indian  corn,  when  consumed  on  the  farm,  ]£* 

should  not  be  classed  with  what  the  English  farmers  term  "  white 
crops,"  but  ratlier  with  the  "  green  crops."  In  otlier  words.  In  Man 
corn  is  what  (dil  writers  used  to  call  a  "  fallov.-  croi)" — (jr  what 
we  call  a  renovating  crop. 

If  tliis  is  so,  then  the  growth  and  consumption  of  Indian  corn  cm 
tlie  farm,  as  is  the  ca.sc  with  clover,  should  leave  tiie  farm  richer 
for  wheat,  rather  than  j)oorer.  I  do  not  mean  richer  absolutely, 
but  richer  so  far  as  {Uottral'ihlr  supply  of  plant-food  is  concerned. 

"  It  may  be  that  you  are  right,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  when  corn  is 
grown  for/'/rW/T,  but  not  when  grown  for  the  grain.  It  is  the  for- 
mation of  the  seed  which  exhausts  the  soil." 

If  I  coul  1  be  .sure  that  it  was  true  of  corn-fodder,  I  should  have 
little  doui>t  that  it  is  true  also  of  corn  as  ordinarily  grown  for 
grain  and  stalks.  For,  I  think,  it  is  dear  that  the  grain  is  formed 
at  the  expense  of  the  stalk.s,  and  not  directly  from  the  soil.  The 
corn-fodiler  will  take  from  the  soil  as  much  nitroL^en  and  phos- 
plioric  acid  as  the  crop  of  corn,  and  the  more  it  will  take,  the  more 
it  approximates  in  cliaracter  to  clover  and  other  renovating  crops. 
If  com -fodder  is  a  renovating  crop,  so  is  the  ordinary  c(jrn-crop, 
also,  provided  it  is  consumed  on  the  farm. 

"  But  what  makes  you  think,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  corn  can 
get  more  nitroiren  from  the  soil,  than  wheat?  " 

"  That  is  tiie  real  point,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "  and  I  will  a.'skyou  this 
question.  Sui>pose  you  had  a  field  of  wheat  seeded  down  to  clover, 
and  the  clover  failed.  After  harvest,  you  i)low  up  half  of  the  field 
and  sow  it  to  wheat  again,  the  other  half  of  the  field  you  plow  in 
the  spring,  and  plant  with  Indian  corn.  Now,  suppose  you  get  15 
bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  how  much  corn  do  you  think  you 
would  be  likely  tn  get  ?" 

"  "Well,  that  depends,"  said  the  Deacon,  "but  I  should  expect  at 
least  30  bushels  of  shelled  corn  pr^r  acre." 

"Exactly,  and  I  tliink  most  farmers  would  tell  you  the  same; 


MAM  1:KS    h\>n    M"K<  lAL    <  IlUl'S.  277 

you  prt  twic'f  as  iiiurli  corn  ami  stalks  Id  the  acre  as  you  woulil  of 
wheat  and  straw.  In  dIIkt  words,  wliili-  th«'  wheal  taniiot  tiiid 
more  nitro^^-n  than  is  nec«-ssary  to  prodiuc  15  bushels  of  wluat 
and  straw,  the  corn  can  find,  an.l  doe-^  fintl,  take  up,  and  organize, 
at  least  twice  us  ujueh  nilrojiin  as  the  wheat." 

If  these  are  faets,  then  the  remarks  we  have  made  in  re;?artl  to 
the  value  of  clover  as  a  fertiliziiii;  i  rop,  are  aitplicahle  in  some  de- 
gree to  Indian  corn.  To  jzrow  clover  and  sell  it,  will  in  the  end 
impoverisii  the  soil ;  to  irrow  clover  and  feed  it  out,  will  enrich  the 
land.  And  tiie  same  will  be  true  of  Indian  corn.  It  will  L'ather 
up  nitrojren  that  the  wheat-crop  can  not  appropriate;  and  when 
tlie  corn  and  stalks  are  fed  out,  some  90  [kt  cent  of  the  nitrogen 
will  be  left  in  the  manure. 

"You  do  not  think,  then,"  .sjjid  tin-  Doctor,  "  tliat  nitrogen  is 
such  an  important  elemer.t  in  manure  for  corn,  as  it  is  hi  a  manure 
for  wheat." 

I  have  not  said  that.  If  we  want  a  largi-  crop  of  corn,  we  shall 
usually  need  a  liberal  supply  of  availal.l.-  nitrogen.  IJut  this  is 
because  a  larger  crop  of  corn  means  a  much  largj-r  produce  per 
acre,  than  a  large  crop  of  wiieat.  Forty  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre 
is  an  unusually  large  crop  with  us  ;  but  80  bushels  of  shelled  corn 
can  be  grown  in  a  favorable  sea'^on,  and  on  rich,  well-cultivated 
land.  As  the  Deacon  has  said,  30  bu.shels  of  corn  per  acre  can  be 
grown  a-s easily  as  15  bu.shels  of  wheat ;  and  it  is  quite  probable,  in 
many  cases,  that  a  manure  contiiiiing  no  nitrogen,  migiit  give  us 
a  crop  of  35  or  40  bushels  per  acre.  In  other  words,  up  to  a  cer- 
lam  point,  manures  containing  mineral,  or  carbonaceous  mattiT, 
might  frequently,  in  or  linary  agriculture,  increa.se  the  yield  of  In- 
dian corn  ;  while  on  similar  land,  such  manures  would  have  little 
effect  on  wheat. 

"That  is  so,"  sail  the  Dcacor,  "  we  all  know  that  plaster  fre- 
quently increases  the  growth  of  corn,  wiiile  it  seldom  does  much 
good  on  wheat." 

But,  after  you  have  got  as  large  a  crop  as  the  land  will  produce, 
aided  by  plaster,  ashes,  and  superphosphate,  say  40  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  per  acre,  i/ifn  if  you  want  to  raise  70  bushels  jkt  acre, 
you  must  furnish  the  soil  with  manures  containing  sufiBcient  avail- 
able nitrogen. 


Some  years  ago,  I  made  some  careful  experiments  with  artificial 
manures  on  Indian  com. 
"  Oh,  yes,"  sai  1  the  Deacon,  "  they  were  made  on  the  south  lot, 


278  TALK.t    ON    MANURES. 

in  front  of  my  house,  and  I  recollect  that  the  N.  Y.  State  Ag. 
Society  awauled  you  a  prize  of  $75  for  thera." 

"  And  I  recollect,"  add  I,  "  how  you  and  some  other  neighbors 
laugiicd  at  me  for  spending  so  much  time  in  measuring  the  land 
and  ai»i)lying  the  manures,  and  nu-asuring  the  crop.  But  I  wish  I 
could  have  afforded  to  continue  them.  A  single  experiment,  how- 
ever carefully  made,  can  not  he  depended  on.  However,  1  will 
give  the  results  for  what  they  are  worth,  with  some  remarks  made 
at  the  time: 

"  The  soil  on  which  the  cxperimeuts  were  made,  is  a  light,  sandy 
loam.  It  has  been  under  cultivation  for  upwards  of  twenty  years, 
and  St)  far  as  I  can  ascerUiin  has  never  Ijeen  manured.  It  has  been 
somewhat  imi)overisiieil  by  the  growth  of  cereal  crops,  and  it  was 
thought  that  for  this  reason,  and  on  account  of  its  light  texture 
and  "ctive  character,  which  would  cause  tlie  manures  to  act  imme- 
dialily,  it  was  well  adapted  for  the  jiurpose  of  showing  the  effect 
of  diflferent  manurial  substances  on  tlie  corn-crop. 

"The  land  was  clover-sod,  two  years  old,  pastured  the  previous  ;? 

summer.     It  was  plowed  early  in  the  spring,  and  harrowed  until  ^ 

in  excellent  condition.     The  corn  was  planted  May  23,  in  hills  3J  v 

feet  apart  each  way. 

"The  manures  were  applied  in  the  hill  immediately  before  the 
seed  was  planted. 

"With  superphosphate  of  lime,  and  with  plaster  (gypsum,  or 
tulphdU'  of  Unit'),  the  seed  was  placed  directly  on  top  of  the  ma- 
nure, as  it  is  well  known  that  tiie.se  manures  do  not  injure  the 
girminating  principle  of  even  the  smallest  seeds. 

"The ashes  were  dropped  in  the  hill,  and  then  covered  witli  soil, 
and  the  seed  planted  on  the  top,  so  that  it  should  not  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  ashes. 

"  Guano  and  sulphate  of  ammonia  were  treatel  in  the  same  way. 

"On  the  plots  where  ashes  and  guano,  or  ashes  and  sulphate  of 
ammonia  were  both  used,  the  ashes  were  first  i)ut  in  the  hill,  and 
covered  with  soil,  and  the  guano  or  suljihate  of  ammonia  placed 
on  the  top,  and  also  coven d  with  soil  before  the  seed  was  planted. 
The  ashes  and  superpliosphate  of  lime  was  also  treated  in  the  same 
way.  It  is  well  known  that  unleached  ashes,  mixed  eitlier  with 
guano,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  or  superpliosphate,  mutually  decom- 
pose each  other,  setting  free  the  ammonia  of  the  guano  and  sul- 
phate of  a'limonia,  and  converting  the  soluble  phospliate  of  the  ' 
9uperphosph;ite  of  lime  into  the  insoluiile  form  in  which  it  existed 
before  treatment  with  sulphuric  acid.  All  the  plots  were  planted 
on  the  same  day,  and  the  nu.nurcs  weighed  and  applied  under  my 


MANUI'vKS    FOR    srEriAI.    mOPS. 


279 


own    immediate   suiKrvi!ii()ii.      Kvcn  tiiiii:^'    was    done    that    was 
tktiiu-(l  iK-irssary  to  si-cun-  accuracy. 

"The  following  Mble  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments: 

TABUt    8UOW1NO    TMK  BB91  1.T8  OF    EXTKRIMENTO  OS    INDIAN   COIIN. 


Description.-' OP  mamu  -  .\m» 

iJCANTlTIKS  AITLIKU    I'ER  ACUK. 


■§5  I  'fe'- 1  v; 


55  5 


^8  |-a5 
f||    '51'  ^'S^ 


-5 


9 


5^? 


'fe.      5 


I! 


flO 

70 

68 
90 

70 

85 


87       10 


12. 


100 
60 


9r> 

78 
88 


111 


14 


78 
105 


90 
72 

97 


108 
08 


to; 

88 
101 

136 


1 1 

10 

1 

11 

8 

8 

11 

."50 

8 

88 

10 

1 

11 

25 

28 

5 

5 

1  27 

1 

3 

30 

40 

1 

41 

t 

1 

1 

a-> 

18 
28 


51 


I.  No  mannrt- I 

a.  KiO  lbs  pli».-tcr(gvp8Uin  or  #«/pA<i/<  or 

HfM> 

3.  400  Ibi*.  unU-achi-d  wood-ashes  and 
I     100  lb!«   nlantcr  iinixfdi 

4.  l!in  Ihn   fufiilmti- of  iininiuiiia 

5.  *Ni  lbs.  nunfri>h"i*i>lmi<' of  lime 

6.  l.V)  lb!»   ^ul^)hnt^•  i>f  aniiixiniH  and  :100 

lb-.  iiup''riihM(<phati'  of  lime  (luised) 

7.  400  lb-    iinl'-achtd    wood  a.^hi-s.  (un- 

ciT.iiim 

8.  150  lbs  pulphatc  of  ammonia  and  400 
I  lb«.  unlt-achi'd  wood  ai-lu!?  (w)vvn 
'     i>i'par;it«'lv  > 

9.  300  lbs.  supirplio-phat«'  of  lime.  l.'iO 
I     lb(».  sulpli    ammonia,  and  40o  lbs. 

unliacti<-d  wotxi  a>h<s 

10.  ^00  lb*.  unl<-acb<-d  wood-aMK's 

II.  100  lbs.  plastiT.  4Nt  lbs  unli-nchod 
I     wood-ashes.     ;«0     lbs     pupi-rphos- 

pbateof  limo.  and  200  lbs.  Ptruvian 

I     miano 

.">  lbs.  sulphate  of  ammonia 

1.3.  200  lb*.  Periiviun  k  ano 

14.  400  lbs.  unli-achfd  wood-ashes,  10.) 
I  lbs.  plaster,  and  .Vhi  lbs.  Pcruviani 
I    guano I 

"  The  supen^hosphate  of  lime  was  made  on  purpose  for  these 
experiment?,  and  wa.-^  a  pure  mi:ieral  manure  of  superior  quality, 
made  from  calcined  bones ;  it  cost  about  21  ci  nts  per  jwund.  The 
sulphate  of  ammonia  was  a  good,  commercial  article,  obtained 
from  London,  at  a  cost  of  about  seven  cents  per  pound.  The  ashes 
w.re  made  from  beech  and  hard  maple  (Acer  siccharinum)  wood, 
and  were  sifted  through  a  fine  sieve  before  being  weighed.  The 
guano  was  the  best  Peruvian,  costing  about  three  cents  per  pound. 
It  was  crashed  and  sifted  before  using.  In  sowing  the  ashes 
on  plot  7,  an  error  occurred  in  their  application,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  checking  the  result,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  repeat 
the  experiment  on  plot  10. 

"  On  plot  5,  with  300  Ib^.  of  superphosphate  of  iime  per  acre,  the 
plants  came  up  first,  and  exhibted  a  healihy,  dark-green  appear- 


88 

21 

u 


58 


280  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

auce,  which  they  rcUiiui'il  for  some  time.  This  result  was  not  an- 
ticipated, thoUL^h  it  is  well  known  that  superphospiiate  of  lime  has 
the  effect  of  stimulating  the  germination  of  ^turnip-seed,  and  the 
early  growtli  of  the  plants  to  an  astonishing  degree;  yet,  as  it  has 
no  such  effect  on  wheat,  it  appeareil  probable  that  it  would  not 
produce  this  effect  on  Indian  corn,  which,  in  chemical  composition, 
is  very  similar  to  wheat.  The  result  shows  how  uncertain  are  all 
speculations  in  regard  to  the  manurial  recjuirements  of  plants. 
This  immediate  effect  of  superphosphate  of  lime  on  corn  was  so 
marked,  that  the  men  (who  were,  at  the  time  of  planting,  somewhat 
inclined  to  be  skeptical,  in  regard  to  the  value  of  such  small  doses 
of  manure),  declared  that  'superphosphate  beats  all  creation  for 
corn.'  The  difference  in  favor  of  superphosphate,  at  the  time  of 
hoeing,  was  very  perceptible,  even  at  some  distance. 

"  Although  every  precaution  was  taken  that  was  deemed  ne- 
cessary, to  prevent  the  manures  from  mixing  in  the  hill,  or  from 
injuring  the  seed,  yet,  it  was  found,  that  those  plots  dressed  with 
ashes  and  guano,  or  with  ashes  and  sulpliate  of  ammonia,  were  in- 
jured to  some  extent.  Shortly  after  the  corn  was  planted,  heavy 
rain  set  in,  and  washed  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  guano,  down 
into  the  ashes,  and  mutual  decomposition  took  place,  with  more 
or  less  loss  of  ammonia.  In  addition  to  this  loss  of  ammonia,  these 
manures  came  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  the  form  of  an 
excrescence,  so  hard  that  the  plants  could  with  difficulty  penetrate 
through  it. 

"It  will  be  seen,  by  examining  the  tabl(%  that  although  the  su- 
perpliospliatc  of  lime  had  a  good  effect  during  tiie  eaily  stages  of 
the  growtli  of  the  plants,  yet  the  increase  of  ears  of  corn  in  the  end 
did  not  come  up  to  these  early  indications.  On  plot  5,  with  300  lbs. 
of  superphosphate  of  lime  per  acre,  the  yield  is  precisely  the  same 
as  on  plot  2,  with  100  lbs.  of  plaster  {sulphate  of  Ume\  per  acre. 
Now,  superphosp'iate  of  lime  is  composed  necessarily  of  soluble 
phosphate  of  lime  and  plaster,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  formed  from  a 
combination  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
superphosphate,  with  the  lime  of  the  bones.  In  the  300  lbs.  of 
superphosphate  of  lime,  so%vn  on  plot  5,  there  would  be  about  100 
lbs.  of  plaster;  and  as  the  effect  of  this  dressing  is  no  greater  than 
was  obtained  from  the  100  lbs.  of  plaster,  sown  on  plot  2,  it  fol- 
lows, tliat  the  good  effect  of  the  superphosphate  of  lime  was  due 
to  the  plaster  that  it  contained. 

"Again,  on  plot  4,  with  150  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  per 
acre,  we  have  90  bushels  of  ears  of  sound  corn,  and  15  bushels  of 
ears  of  soft  corn,  ('nubbins,')  per  acre  ;  or  a  total  increase  over  the 


MAXLRES    K<>K    SPECIAL    C'UOPS.  281 

plot  without  manure,  of  ;iS  husht'ls.  Now,  Hk-  sulphate  of  aiutuo* 
niacoDliiins  no  pbosplialeof  lime,  and  the  fact  that  sucli  a  manure 
gives  a  c-onsiilcralih'  increase  of  crop,  confirms  the  conclusion  we 
have  arrived  at,  from  a  comparison  of  tlie  results  on  plots  2  and  5; 
that  the  increase  from  the  supcr[)hosphate  of  lime,  is  not  due  to 
the  phosphate  of  lime  which  it  contains,  unless  we  are  to  conclude 
that  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  rendered  tlie  phosphate  of  lime  in 
the  soil  more  ri'adily  solui)lc,  and  tlius  furnished  an  increased 
quantity  in  an  available  furm  for  assimilation  by  the  plants — 
a  conclusion,  which  the  results  with  superphosphate  alone,  on 
plot  5,  and  with  superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  cooi- 
biaed,  on  plot  6,  do  not  susUiin. 

"On  plot  12,  half  the  (piantity  of  sulpJiatc  of  ammonia,  was 
used  as  on  plot  4,  and  the  increase  is  a  little  more  than  half  wi»at  it 
is  where  double  the  quantity  was  used.  Again,  on  plot  13,  200  lbs. 
of  Peruvian  guano  i)er  acre,  gives  nearly  as  great  an  increase  of 
sound  corn,  as  the  150  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia.  Now,  200  lbs. 
of  Peruvian  guano  contains  nearly  as  much  ammonia  as  150  lbs. 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  the  increase  in  both  cases  is  evidently 
due  to  the  ammonia  of  these  manures.  Tiie  200  lbs.  of  Peruvian 
guano,  contained  al>out  50  ll)s.  of  piiosphate  of  lime ;  but  as  the  sul- 
phate of  ammonia,  which  contains  no  phos|>hate  of  lime,  gives  as 
great  an  incn-ise  as  the  guan(»,  it  follows,  that  the  phosphate  of 
lime  in  the  guano,  had  little,  if  any  effect;  a  result  precisely  simi- 
lar to  that  obtained  with  superphosphate  of  lime. 

"  We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  on  this  soil,  which  has  never 
been  manuivd,  and  which  has  been  cultivated  for  many  years  with 
the  Cerdlia—  or,  in  other  words,  with  crops  which  remove  a  large 
quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime  from  the  soil — the  phosphate  of 
lime,  relatively  to  the  ammonia,  is  not  deficient.  If  such  was  not 
the  case,  an  application  of  soluble  phosphate  of  lime  would  have 
given  an  increase  of  crop,  which  we  have  shown  was  not  the  case 
in  any  one  of  these  experiments. 

"  Plot  10,  with  400  lbs.  of  unleached  wood-ashes  per  acre,  pro- 
duces the  same  quantity  of  sound  corn,  with  an  extra  bushel  ol 
'nubbins'  per  acre,  as  plot  1,  without  any  manure  at  all;  ashes, 
therefore,  applied  alone,  may  be  said  to  liave  had  no  effect  what- 
ever. On  plot  3,  400  lbs.  of  ashes,  and  100  lbs.  of  piaster,  give  the 
same  total  number  of  bushels  per  acre,  as  plot  2,  with  100  lbs.  of 
plaster  alone.  Plot  8,  with  400  lbs.  ashes,  and  150  lbs.  of  sulphate 
of  ammonia,  yields  three  bushels  of  sound  corn,  and  five  bushels 
of  'nubbins'  per  acre,  less  than  plot  4,  with  150  lbs.  sulphate  of 


282  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

ammonia  alone.  This  result  nui}'  be  ascribed  to  the  fact  previously 
alluded  to  — the  ashes  dissipated  some  of  the  ammonia. 
"Plot  11,  with  lOU  lbs.  of  plaster,  400  lbs.  aslies,  300  lbs.  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime,  and  20C  lbs.  Peruvian  guano  (whieh  contains 
about  as  much  ammonia  as  loO  lbs.  sulphate  of  ammonia),  pro- 
duced precisely  the  same  number  of  total  bushels  per  acre,  as  jdot 
4,  with  150  lbs.  sulphate  of  ammonia  alone,  and  but  4  bushels  more 
per  acre,  tliau  plot  Vi,  with  :200  lbs.  Peruvian  guano  alone.  It  is 
evident,  from  these  results,  that  neither  ashes  nor  phosphates  had 
much  effect  on  Indian  corn,  on  this  impoverished  soil.  Plot  14  re- 
ceived the  largest  dressing  of  ammonia  (500  lbs.  Peruvian  guano), 
and  produced  much  the  largest  crop;  though  the  increase  is  not  so 
great  in  proportion  to  the  guaao,  as  where  smaller  quantities  were 
used. 

"The  manure  which  produced  the  mo.st  profitable  result,  was 
the  100  lbs.  of  plaster,  on  |)lot  2.  The  200  lbs.  of  Peruvian  guano, 
on  plot  13,  and  whidi  cost  about  $0,  gave  an  increase  of  14  bushels 
of  slielled  corn,  ami  G  l)usbels  of  '  nubbins.'  This  will  pay  at  the 
present  price  of  corn  in  Rochester,  although  the  profit  is  not  very 
great.  Tiie  superphosphate  of  lime,  although  a  very  superior 
article,  and  estimated  at  cost  price,  in  no  ease  paid  for  itself.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  ashes. 

"But  the  object  of  the  experiment  was  not  so  much  to  ascertain 
what  manures  will  pay,  but  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  wlial  constitu- 
ents of  manures  are  required,  in  greatest  quantity,  for  the  maxi- 
nmm  growth  of  com.  *  *  Hitherto,  no  experiments  have  been 
made  in  this  country,  on  Indian  corn,  that  afforded  any  certain  in- 
formation on  this  point.  Indeed,  we  believe  no  satisfactory  experi- 
ments have  been  made  on  Indian  corn,  in  any  country-,  that  throw 
any  definite  light  on  this  interesting  and  important  question.  A 
few  years  ago,  Mr.  Luwes  made  similar  experiments  to  those  given 
above,  on  his  farm,  at  Roth;imsted,  England ;  but  owing  to  the 
coolness  of  the  English  climate,  the  crop  did  not  arrive  at  maturity. 

"Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  in  this  country,  with 
guano  and  superphospliate  of  lime;  but  the  superphosphates  used 
were  commercial  articles,  containing  more  or  less  ammonia,  and  if 
they  are  of  any  benefit  to  those  crops  to  which  they  are  applied,  it 
is  a  matter  of  uncertainty  whether  the  beneficial  effect  of  the  appli- 
cation is  due  to  the  solul)le  phosphate  of  lime,  or  to  the  ammonia. 
On  the  other  hand,  guano  contains  ])otli  ammonia  and  phosphate; 
and  we  are  equally  at  a  loss  to  determine,  wiietiier  the  effect  is  at- 
tributable to  the  ammonia  or  phosphate,  or  both.  In  order,  there- 
fore, to  determine  satisfactorily,  which  of  the  several  ingredients 


11 


AfANTUES    FOR   SPECIAI,   CROPS.  283 

of  plants  Is  rc(iuin(l  in  irrratost  |)rnporti()H.  for  tlio  maxnnuni 
^rowtli  of  any  particular  crop,  we  must  apply  tlitsr  inii:roclicnts  sep- 
arately, or  in  such  definite  compounds,  as  will  enable  us  to  deter- 
mine to  what  particular  element  or  compounds  the  beneficial  effect 
is  to  be  ascribed.  It  was  for  this  reason,  that  sulphate  of  ammo- 
nia, and  a  purely  mineral  superphosphate  of  lime,  were  used  in 
the  above  experiments.  No  one  would  think  of  using  sulphate  of 
ammonia  at  its  price,  [sulphate  of  ammonia  is  now  cheaper,  while 
Peruvian  guano  is  more  costly  and  less  rich  in  ammonia],  as  an 
ordinary  manure,  for  the  reason,  that  the  same  (juantity  of  ammo- 
nia can  bo  obtained  in  otiier  substances,  such  as  barnyard-njanure, 
Peruvian  guano,  etc.,  at  a  much  cheaper  rate.  But  these  manures 
contain  uU  the  elements  of  j^lants,  and  we  can  not  know  whether 
the  effect  produced  by  them  is  due  to  the  ammonia,  phosphates,  or 
any  other  ingredients.  For  the  purpose  of  experiment,  therefore, 
we  must  use  a  manure  that  furnishes  ammonia  without  any  ad- 
mixture of  phosphates,  potash,  soda,  lime,  magnesia,  etc.,  even 
though  it  cost  mucii  more  than  we  could  obtain  the  same  amount 
of  ammonia  in  other  manures.  I  make  these  remarks  in  order  to 
correct  a  very  common  opinion,  that  if  experiments  do  not  pay, 
they  are  useless.  The  ultimate  object,  indeed,  is  to  ascertain  the 
most  profitable  method  of  manuring;  but  the  Jticans  of  obtaining 
this  information,  can  not  in  all  cases  be  profitable. 

"  Similar  experiments  to  those  made  on  Indian  corn,  were  made 
on  soil  of  a  similar  character,  on  about  an  acre  of  Chinese  sugar- 
cane. I  do  not  propose  to  give  the  results  in  detail,  at  this  time, 
and  allude  to  them  merely  to  mention  one  very  important  fact,  the 
superphosphate  of  lime  had  c.  rery  marked  effect.  This  manure  was 
applied  in  the  hill  on  one  plot  (the  twentieth  of  an  acre,)  at  the 
rate  of  400  lbs.  per  acre,  and  the  plants  on  this  plot  came  up  first, 
and  outgrew  all  the  others  fnmi  the  start,  and  ultimately  attained 
the  height  of  about  ten  feet ;  while  on  the  plot  receiving  no  ma- 
nure, the  plants  were  not  five  feet  high.  This  is  a  result  entirely 
different  from  what  I  should  have  expected.  It  has  been  supposed, 
from  the  fact  that  superphosplnte  of  lime  had  no  effect  on  wheat, 
that  it  would  probably  have  little  effect  on  com,  or  on  the  sugar- 
cane, or  olher  cer alia  ;  and  that,  as  ammonia  is  so  beneficial  for 
wheat,  it  would  probably  be  beneficial  for  corn  and  sugar-cane. 
The  above  experiments  indicate  that  such  is  the  case,  in  regard  to 
Indian  com,  so  far  as  the  production  of  grain  is  concerned,  though, 
as  we  have  stated,  it  is  not  true  in  reference  to  the  early  growth  of 
the  plants.  The  superphosphate  of  limeon  Indian  corn,  stimulated 
the  growth  of  the  plants,  in  a  very  decided  manner  at  first,  so 


284 


TALKS   OIV^   MAXURKS. 


much  so,  that  we  were  led  to  suppose,  for  some  time,  tliat  it  would 
give  the  largest  crop ;  but  at  harvest,  it  was  found  that  it  produced 
no  more  com  than  plaster.  These  results  seem  to  indicate,  that 
superphosphate  of  lime  stimulates  the  growth  of  stalks  and  leaves, 
and  has  little  effect  in  increasing  the  production  of  seed.  In  raising 
Indian  corn,  for  fodder  or  for  soiling  purposes,  superphosj)hate  of 
lime  may  be  beneficial,  as  well  as  in  growing  tlie  sorghum  for  sugar- 
making  purposes,  or  for  fodddcr — though,  perhaps,  not  for  seed." 

"  In  addition  to  the  experiments  given  above,  I  also  made  the 
same  season,  on  an  adjnining  field,  another  set  of  experiments  oa 
Indian  corn,  the  results  of  which  arc  given  below. 

"  The  land  on  which  these  experiments  were  made,  is  of  a  some- 
what firmer  texture  than  that  on  which  the  other  set  of  experi- 
ments was  made.  It  is  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  barn-yard, 
and  on  this  account,  has  seldom,  if  ever  been  manured.  It  has 
been  cultivated  for  many  years  "with  ordinary  farm  crops.  It  was 
plowed  early  in  the  spring,  and  it  was  harrowed  until  quite 
mellow.  The  corn  was  planted  May  30,  18o7.  Each  experiment 
occupied  one-tenth  of  an  acre,  consisting  of  4  rows  3j  feet  apart, 
and  the  same  distance  between  the  hills  in  tiie  rows,  with  one  row 
without  manure  between  each  experimental  plot. 

"  The  manure  was  applied  in  tiie  hill,  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
tlie  first  set  of  experiments. 

"  The  barnyard-manure  was  well-rotted,  and  consisted  princi- 
pally of  cow-dung  with  a  little  horse-dung.  Twenty  two-horse 
wagon  loads  of  this  was  applied  per  acre,  and  each  load  would 
probably  v/eigh  about  one  ton.  It  was  put  in  the  hill  and  covered 
with  soil,  and  the  seed  then  planted  on  the  top. 

"  The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  the  experiments: 

TABLE  SnoWINQ  TnE  RESULTS  OF    EXPEKIMENT9  ON  INDIAN   CORN,   MADE    NEAR 
ROCUESTER,  N.   T  ,   IN  THE  YEAR   18o7. 


I 


Descriptions  op  manures,  and 
quantities  atplied  pek  acre. 


V^ 


'^r 


^"2 


5^  <^ 


§  ^ 


i-  ■**  C 


5  c> 


K^     -?^     >5^ 


"fe^S 


g  a. 


1 .  No  manure 75 

'.'.  2(1  Iliads  barn-yard  manure Hii 

3.  l.iO  11)8.  sulphate  of  ammonia 8,5 

4.  HftU  I'ds.  superphosphate  of  lime 88 

5.  400  lbs.  Peruvian  Ruano  90 

6.  400  lbs.  of  "  Cancerine,"  or  fish  man'e  85 


12 

87 

10 

;t2i 

30 

115 

10 

98  I 

30 

120 

20 

105  ' 

J 


M.VNCUKS    FOR    SPEiI.VL    (  UOPS.  285 

*  As  before  stated,  the  laud  was  of  a  stronger  nature  tbaii  that 
o^  wliich  the  tirst  set  of  experiiDents  wac  made,  and  it  was  evi- 
dently in  better  condition,  as  tlie  plot  b-viui;  no  manure  procluecd 
20  busbels  of  ears  of  corn  per  acre  more  than  tbe  plot  witbout 
manure  in  tbe  '^tber  field. 

"  On  plot  4,  300  lbs.  of  superpbospbate  of  lime  gives  a  total  in- 
crease of  11  busbels  of  cars  of  corn  per  acre  over  tbe  unmanured 
plot,  agreeing  exactly  witb  the  increase  obtained  from  tbe  same 
quantity  of  tbe  same  manure  on  plot  5,  in  tbe  first  set  of  experi- 
ments. 

"Plot  3,  dressed  witli  150  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  per  acre, 
givts  a  total  increase  of  28  busbels  of  ears  of  corn  per  acre,  over 
tbe  unmanured  plot;  and  an  increase  of  22.^  bushels  of  ears  per 
acre  over  plot  2,  which  received  20  loads  of  good,  well-rotted  barn- 
yard-dung per  acre. 

"  Plot  5,  with  400  lbs.  of  Peruvian  guano  per  acre  gives  the  best 
crop  of  this  series  viz  :  an  increase  of  33  busbels  of  corn  per  acre 
over  the  unmanured  plot,  and  21  ^  over  the  plot  manured  with 
20  loads  of  barnyard-dung.  The  400  lbs.  of  '  Cancerine  ' — an  arti- 
ficial manure  made  in  New  Jersey  from  fish — gives  a  total  in- 
crease of  18  busliels  of  eai-s  per  acre  over  tbe  unmanured  plot,  and 
12A  bushels  more  than  that  manured  witb  b;irn-}-ard  dang,  though 
5  busbels  of  ears  of  sound  corn  and  10  bushels  of  'nubbins'  per 
acre  less  than  tbe  same  quantity  of  Peruvian  guano." 

MANURES  FOR  TURNIPS. 

To  raise  a  large  crop  of  turnips,  especially  of  ruta-bagas,  there  is 
nothing  better  than  a  liberal  application  of  rich,  well-rotted  faim- 
yard-manurc,  and  250  to  300  lbs.  of  good  superphosphate  of  lime 
per  acre,  drilled  in  with  the  seed. 

I  have  seen  capital  crops  of  common  turnips  grown  witb  no 
other  manure  except  300  lbs.  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  drilled 
with  tb?  seed.  Saperphosphate  has  a  wonderful  efiFect  on  tbe  de- 
velopment of  the  roots  of  the  turnip.  And  this  is  the  secret  of  its 
great  value  for  this  crop.  It  increases  the  growth  of  the  young 
plant,  developing  tbe  formation  of  tlie  roots,  and  when  tbe  turnip 
once  gets  full  possession  of  tbe  soil,  it  appropriates  all  tbe  plant- 
food  it  can  find.  A  turnip-crop  grown  with  superphosphate,  can 
get  from  tbe  soil  much  more  nitrogen  than  a  crop  of  wheat.  The 
turnip-crop,  when  supplied  with  superphosphate,  is  a  good  "scav- 
enger." It  will  gather  up  and  organize  into  good  food  tbe  refuse 
plant-food  left  in  tbe  soil.  It  is  to  tbe  surface  soil,  what  clover  is 
to  tbe  subsoil. 


286  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

To  the  market  jrardcner,  or  to  a  farmer  who  manures  heavily 
common  turnips  drilleil  in  with  superphospiiule  will  prove  a  valu- 
able crop.  On  such  land  no  other  niauure  will  Ijc  needed.  I  can- 
not too  earnestly  recommend  the  use  of  superphosphate  as  a  ma- 
nure for  turnips. 

For  Swede  turnips  or  ruta-bagas,  it  will  usually  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  secure  a  majciraum  crop,  to  use  a  manure  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  superphosphate,  contains  available  nitrogen.  A  good  dress- 
ing of  rich,  well-rotted  manure,  spread  on  the  laud,  and  plowed 
under,  and  then  300  lbs.  of  superphosphate  drilled  in  with  the 
seed,  would  be  likely  to  give  a  good  crop. 

In  the  absence  of  manure,  there  is  probably  nothing  better  for 
the  ruta  bagas  than  oOO  lbs.  of  so-called  "  rectified "  Peruvian 
guano,  that  is,  guano  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  to  render  the 
pliosphalcs  soluble.  Such  a  guano  is  guaranteed  to  contain  10  per 
cent  of  ammonia,  and  10  per  cent  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and 
would  be  a  good  dressing  for  Swede  turnips. 

The  best  way  to  use  guano  for  turnips  is  to  sow  it  broadcast  on 
the  land,  and  harrow  it  in,  and  then  either  drill  in  the  turnip-seed 
on  the  flat,  or  on  ridges.  The  latter  is  decidedly  the  better  plan, 
provided  you  have  the  necessary  implements  to  do  the  work  expe- 
ditiously. A  double  mould-board  plow  will  ridge  up  four  acres  a 
day,  and  the  guano  being  previously  sown  on  the  surface,  will  be 
turned  up  with  the  mellow  surface-soil  into  the  ridge,  where  the 
seed  is  to  be  sown.  The  young  plants  get  hold  of  it  and  grow  so 
rapidly  as  to  be  soon  out  of  danger  from  the  turnip-beetle. 

MANURES  FOR  MANGEL-WURZEL  OR  SUGAR-BEETS. 

When  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  feeding  to  stock,  there  is  prob- 
ably little  or  no  difference  in  the  manurial  requirements  of  sugar- 
beets  and  mangel-wurzel.  Our  object  is  to  get  as  large  a  growth 
as  possible  consistent  with  quality. 

"  Large  roots,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  have  been  proved  to  contain 
less  nutriment  than  small  roots." 

True,  but  it  docs  not  follow  from  this  that  rich  land,  or  heavy 
manuring  is  the  chief  cause  of  this  diff"erence.  It  is  much  more 
likely  to  be  due  to  the  variety  selected.  The  seed-growers  have 
been  breeding  so'ely  for  size  and  shape.  They  have  succeeded  to 
such  an  extent  that  84  gross  tons  of  roots  have  been  grown  on  an 
acre.  This  is  equal  to  over  94  of  our  tons  per  acre.  "  That  is  an 
enormous  crop,"  said  the  Deacon;  "and  it  would  require  some 
labor  to  put  10  acres  of  them  in  a  cellar." 

"If  they  were  as  nutritious  as  ordinary  mangels,"  saiil  I,  "  that 


i 


MANURES    FOK    SPECIAL    CROPS.  287 

would  l)c  no  arj^ument  against  tlicni.  But  sucli  is  not  the  case. 
In  a  letter  just  received  from  Mr.  Lawes,  (May,  1878,)  he  charac- 
terizes them  as  '  bladders  of  water  and  salts.'  " 

Had  the  seed  growers  bred  for  qudity,  the  roots  would  have 
been  of  less  size,  but  they  would  contain  more  nutriment. 

Wliat  we  want  is  a  variety  that  has  been  bred  with  reference  to 
quality ;  and  when  this  is  secureil,  we  need  not  fear  to  make  the 
land  rich  and  otherwise  aim  to  secure  great  growth  and  large-sized 
roots. 

It  certainly  is  not  good  economy  to  select  a  variety  which  has 
been  bred  for  years  to  produce  large-sized  roots,  and  then  sow  this 
seed  on  poor  land  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  small-sized  roots. 
Better  take  a  variety  bred  for  quality,  and  then  make  the  land  rich 
enough  to  produce  a  good  crop. 

Wc  are  not  likely  to  err  in  making  the  land  too  rich  for  mangel- 
wurzel  or  for  sugar-beets  grown  for  stock.  When  sugar-beets  are 
grown  for  sugar,  we  must  aim  to  u^e  manures  favoraljle  for  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar,  or  rather  to  avoid  using  those  whicii  arc  un- 
favorable. But  where  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  food,  our  aim  is 
to  get  a  large  amount  of  nutriment  to  the  acre.  And  it  is  by  no 
means  clear  to  my  mind  that  there  is  much  to  be  gained  by  .select- 
ing the  sugar-beet  instead  of  a  good  variety  of  mangel-wurzel.  It 
is  not  a  difficult  matter,  by  selecting  the  largest  roots  for  seed,  and 
by  liberal  manuring,  and  continuously  selecting  the  largest  roots, 
to  convert  the  suirar-bect  into  a  mangel-wurzel. 

When  sugar-beets  are  grown  for  food,  we  may  safely  manure 
them  as  we  would  mangel-wurzel,  and  treat  the  two  crops  pre- 
cisely alike. 

I  usually  raise  from  ten  to  fifteen  acres  of  mangel-wurzel  every 
year.  I  grow  them  in  rotation  with  other  crops,  and  not  as  the 
Hon.  Harris  Lewis  and  some  others  do,  continuously  on  the  same 
land.  We  manure  liberally,  but  not  extravagantly,  and  get  a  fair 
yield,  and  the  land  is  left  in  admirable  condition  for  future  crops. 

I  mean  by  this,  not  that  the  land  is  specially  rich,  but  that  it  is 
very  clean  and  mellow. 

"In  1877,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  had  potatoes  on  tlie  land 
■where  you  grew  mangels  the  previous  year,  and  had  the  best  crop 
in  the  neitrhborliood." 

This  is  true,  but  still  I  do  not  think  it  a  good  rotation.  A  barley 
crop  seeded  with  clover  would  be  better,  especially  if  the  mangels 
were  heavily  manured.  The  clover  would  get  the  manure  which 
had  been  washed  into  the  subsoil,  or  left  in  such  a  condition  that 
potatoes  <'-T  grain  could  not  take  it  up. 


288  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

There  is  one  thing  in  iclulion  to  my  mani^els  of  1876  which  has 
escaped  the  Deacon.  The  whole  piece  was  manured  and  well  pre- 
pared, and  :libl)led  in  with  mangels,  the  rows  being  2^  feet  apart, 
and  the  e^^eed  dropped  15  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Owing  to  poor 
seed,  the  mangels  failed  on  about  three  acres,  and  we  plowed  up 
the  land  and  drilled  in  corn  for  fodder,  in  rows  2^  feet  apart,  and 
at  the  rate  of  over  three  bushels  of  seed  per  acre.  We  had  a  great 
crop  of  corn-fodder. 

The  next  year,  as  I  said  before,  the  -whole  piece  was  planted 
with  potatoes,  and  if  it  was  true  that  mangels  are  an  "enriching 
crop,"  while  corn  is  an  "exhausting"  crop,  we  ought  to  have  had 
much  better  potatoes  after  the  mangels  than  after  corn.  This  was 
certainly  not  the  case;  if  there  was  any  dilference,  it  was  in  favor 
of  tbe  corn.  But  I  do  not  place  any  confidence  in  an  experiment 
of  this  kind,  where  the  crops  were  not  weighed  and  the  results 
carefully  ascertained. 

Mr.  Lawes  has  made  some  most  thorough  experiments  with  dif- 
ferent manures  on  sugar-beets,  and  in  1870  he  commenced  a  series 
of  experiments  with  mangel-wurzel. 

The  land  is  a  rather  stiff  clay  loam,  similar  to  that  on  which  the 
wheat  and  barley  experiments  wers  made.  It  is  better  suited  to 
the  growth  of  beets  than  of  turnips. 

"Why  so,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "I  thought  that  black,  bottom 
land  was  best  for  mangels." 

"Not  so,  Deacon,"  said  I,  "we  can,  it  is  true,  grow  large  crops 
of  mangels  on  well-drained  and  well-manured  swampy  or  bottom 
land,  but  the  best  soil  for  mangels,  especially  in  regard  to  quality, 
is  a  good,  stiff,  well-worked,  and  well-manured  loam." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "you  had  a  better  crop  last  year 
on  tlie  lower  and  blacker  portions  of  the  field  than  on  the  heavy, 
clayey  land." 

in  one  sense,  this  is  true.  We  had  dry  weather  in  the  spring, 
and  the  mangel  seed  on  the  dry,  clayey  land  did  not  come  up  as 
well  as  on  the  cooler  and  moister  bottom-land.  We  had  more 
plants  to  the  acre,  but  the  roots  on  the  clayey  land,  when  they 
once  got  fair  hold  of  the  soil  and  the  manure,  grew  larger  and  bet- 
ter than  on  the  lighter  and  moister  land.  The  great  point  is  to  get 
this  heavy  land  into  a  fine,  mellow  condition. 

But  to  Mr.  Lawes'  experiments.  They  are  remarkably  interest- 
ing and  instructive.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  all  the  de- 
tails. Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  experiments  seem  to  prove,  very 
conclusively,  that  beets  require  a  liberal  supply  of  available  nitro- 


MANURES    FOR    SPECIAL    CKOPS.  289 

gen.  Thus,  without  manure,  the  yield  of  beets  was  about  7i  tons 
of  bulbs  per  acre. 

With  550  lbs.  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  the  yield  was  a  little  over 
22  tons  per  acre.  With  14  tons  of  farmyard-manure,  18  tons  per 
acre.  With  14  tons  of  farmyard  manure  and  550  lbs.  nitrate  of 
soda,  over  27j  tons  per  acre. 

Superphosphate  of  lime,  sulphates  of  potash,  soda,  and  magne- 
sia, and  common  salt,  alone,  or  with  other  manures,  had  conipura- 
tively  little  etTcet. 

Practically,  when  we  want  to  iirow  a  good  crop  of  beets  or  man- 
gels, tliese  experiments  prove  that  what  we  need  is  the  richest  kind 
of  barnyard-manure. 

If  our  manure  is  not  rich,  then  we  should  use,  in  addition  to  the 
manure,  a  dressing  of  nitrate  of  soda — say  400  or  500  lbs.  per  acre. 

If  the  land  is  in  pretty  good  condition,  and  we  have  no  barn- 
yard-manure, we  may  look  for  a  fair  crop  from  a  dressing  of  ni- 
trate of  soda  alone. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  550  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  alone, 
gave  an  increase  of  14.V  tons  per  acre.  And  the  following  year,  on 
the  same  land,  it  gave  an  increase  of  13}  tons;  and  the  ne.vt  year, 
on  the  same  land,  over  9  tons." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  the  first  three  years  of  the  experiments  (1871-2-3), 
550  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda  alone,  ajiplied  every  year,  gave  an  average 
yield  of  19^  tons  of  bulbs  per  acre.  During  the  same  three  years, 
the  plot  dressed  with  14  tons  of  barnyard-manure,  gave  an  average 
yield  of  16^  tons.  But  now  mark.  The  next  year  (1874)  all  the 
plots  were  left  without  any  manure,  and  the  plot  which  had  been 
previously  dressed  with  nitrate  of  soda,  alone,  fell  off  to  3  tons  per 
acre,  while  the  plot  which  had  been  previously  manured  with 
barnyard-manure,  produced  lOj  tons  per  acre." 

"  Good,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  there  is  nothing  like  manure." 

MANURES    FOR    CABBAGE,    PARSNIPS,    CARROTS,    LETTUCE, 
ONIONS,  ETC. 

I  class  these  plants  together,  because,  though  difTering  widely  in 
many  respects,  they  have  one  feature  in  common.  They  are  all 
artificiul  productions. 

A  distinguished  amateur  horticulturist  once  said  to  me,  "  I  do 
not  see  why  it  is  I  have  so  much  trouble  with  lettuce.  My  land  is 
rich,  and  the  lettuce  grow  well,  but  do  not  head.  They  have  a 
tendency  to  run  up  to  seed, and  soon  get  tough  and  bitter." 

I  advised  him  to  raise  his  own  seed  from  the  best  jilants — and 
especially  to  reject  all  plants  that  showed  any  tendency  to  go  pre- 
13 


290  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

maturely  to  seed.  Furtlierniore,  I  told  him  I  thought  if  he  would 
sow  a  little  superphosphate  of  lime  with  the  seed,  it  would  greatly 
stimulate  the  early  growth  of  the  lettuce. 

As  I  have  said  before,  superphosphate,  when  drilled  in  with  the 
seed,  has  a  wonderful  effect  in  developing  tlie  root-growth  of  the 
young  plants  of  turnips,  and  I  thought  it  would  have  the  same 
eflFect  on  lettuce,  cabbage,  cauliflowers,  etc. 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  it  is  not  roots  that  I  want,  but  heads." 

"  Exactly,"  said  I,  "  you  do  not  want  the  plants  to  follow  out 
their  natural  disposition  and  run  up  to  seed.  You  want  to  induce 
them  to  throw  out  a  great  abundance  of  tender  leaves.  In  other 
words,  you  want  them  to  '  head.'  Just  as  in  the  turnip,  you  do  not 
want  them  to  run  up  to  seed,  but  to  produce  an  unnatural  develop- 
ment of  '  bulb.' " 

Thirty  years  ago.  Dr.  Gilbert  threw  out  the  suggestion,  that 
while  it  was  evident  that  turnips  required  a  larger  proportion  of 
soluble  phosphates  in  the  soil  than  wheat  ;  while  wheat  required  a 
larger  proportion  of  available  nitrogen  m  the  soil,  than  turnips,  it 
was  quite  probable,  if  we  were  growing  turnips /or  seed,  that  then, 
turnips  would  require  the  same  kind  of  manures  as  wheat. 


We  want  exceedingly  rich  land  for  cabbage,  especially  for  an 
early  crop.  This  is  not  merely  because  a  large  crop  of  cal)bage 
takes  a  large  amount  of  plant-food  out  of  the  soil,  but  because 
the  cultivated  cabbage  is  an  artificial  plant,  that  requires  its  food 
in  a  concentrated  sliape.  In  popular  language,  the  plants  have  to 
be  "  forced." 

According  to  the  analyses  of  Dr.  Anderson,  the  outside  leaves  of 
cabbage,  contain,  in  round  numbers,  91  per  cent  of  water ;  and  the 
heart  leaves,  94i  per  cent.  In  other  words,  the  green  leaves  con- 
tain Z\  per  cent  more  dry  matter  than  the  heart  leaves. 

Dr.  Voelckcr,  who  analyzed  more  recently  some  "  cattle-cab- 
bage," found  89^  per  cent  of  water  in  the  green  leaves,  and  83| 
per  cent  in  the  heart  and  inner  leaves — thus  conflxmini^  previous 
analyses,  and  showing  also  that  the  composition  of  cabbages  varies 
considerably. 

Dr.  Voelcker  found  much  less  water  in  the  cabbage  than  Dr. 
Anderson. 

The  specimen  analyzed  by  Dr.  V.,  was  grown  on  the  farm  of 
the  Royal  Ag.  College  of  England,  and  I  infer  from  some  incidental 
remarks,  that  the  crop  was  grown  on  ratlier  poor  land.  And  it  is 
probably  true  that  a  large  crop  of  cabbage  grown  on  rich  land,  con- 
tains a  higUer  percentage  of  wate^  than  cabbage  grown  on  poorer 


M^VNURES    FOU    SPECIAL    CROPS.  291 

land.  On  the  poor  land,  the  cabbage  would  not  be  likely  to  head 
so  well  as  on  the  rich  land,  and  tlie  green  leaves  of  cabbage  con- 
tain more  than  half  as  much  again  real  dry  substance  us  the  heart 
leaves. 

The  dry  matter  of  the  heart  leaves,  however,  contains  more 
actual  nutriment  than  the  dry  matter  of  the  green  leaves. 

It  would  seem  very  desirable,  therefore,  whether  we  are  raising 
cabbage  for  market  or  for  home  consumption,  to  make  the  land 
rich  enough  to  grow  good  heads.  Dr.  Vojlcker  says,  "  In  ordinary 
seasons,  the  average  produce  of  Swedes  on  our  poorer  fields  is 
about  15  tons  per  acre.  On  weighing  the  produce  of  an  acre  of 
cabbage,  grown  under  similar  circumstances,  I  found  that  it 
amounted  to  17|  tons  per  acre.  On  good,  well-manured  fields, 
however,  we  have  had  a  much  larger  produce." 

In  a  report  on  the  "  Cultivation  of  Cabbage,  and  its  comparative 
Value  for  Feeding  purposes,"  by  J.  M.  M'Laren,  of  Scotland,  the 
yield  of  Swede  turnips,  was  29|  tons  per  acre,  and  the  yield  of  cab- 
bage, 47J  tons  per  acre. 

"  It  is  very  evident,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  if  you  grow  cabbage 
you  should  make  the  land  rich  enough  to  produce  a  good  crop — 
and  I  t;ike  it  that  is  all  you  want  to  show." 

"  I  want  to  show,"  I  replied,  "  that  our  market  gardeners  have 
reason  for  applying  such  apparently  excessive  dressings  of  rich 
manure  to  the  cabbage-crop.  They  find  it  safer  to  put  far  more 
manure  into  the  land  than  the  crop  can  possibly  use,  rather  than 
run  any  risk  of  getting  an  inferior  crop.  An  important  practical 
question  is,  whether  they  can  not  grow  some  crop  or  crops  after 
the  cabbage,  that  can  profitably  take  up  the  manure  left  in  the  soil." 

Prof.  E.  Wolff,  in  the  last  edition  of  "Praktische  Diingerlehre," 
gives  the  composition  of  cabbage.  For  the  details  of  which,  see 
Appendix,  page  345. 

From  this  it  appears  that  50  tons  of  cabbage  contain  240  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  and  1,600  lbs.  of  ash.  Included  in  the  ash  is  630  lbs. 
of  potash;  90  lbs.  of  soda;  310  lbs.  of  lime;  60  lbs.  of  magnesia; 
140  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid ;  240  lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  20  lbs. 
of  silica. 


Henderson,  in  "  Gardening  for  Profit,"  advises  the  application 
of  75  tons  of  stable  or  barn-yard  manure  per  acre,  for  early  cab- 
bage. For  late  cabbage,  after  peas  or  early  potatoes,  he  says  about 
iO  tons  per  acre  are  used. 

Brill,  in  "Farm  Gardening  and  Seed  Growing,"  also  makes  the 
same  distinction  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of  manure  used  for  early 


292  TALKS   ON   MANUEES. 

and  late  cabbage.  He  speaks  of  70  to  80  tons  or  more,  per  acre,  of 
well-rotted  stable-manure  as  not  an  unusual  or  excessive  dressing 
every  year. 

Now,  according  to  Wolffs  table,  75  tons  of  fresh  stable-manure, 
with  straw,  contains  830  ll<s.  of  nitrogen ;  795  lbs.  of  potash  ;  150 
lbs.  soda;  315  lbs.  of  lime;  210  lbs.  of  magnesia;  420  lbs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid  ;  105  lbs.  sulphuric  acid  ;  2,655  lbs.  of  silica,  and  GO  lbs. 
of  cidorine. 

"  Put  the  figures  side  by  side,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  so  that  we  can 
compare  them." 

Here  they  are : 


Nltrocen 

Potasli 

Phosphoric  acid 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnosia 


75  tons 
Frenh  Borse 

Manure 
^820  Tbs7 

79.-)    '• 

420    " 

KiO    " 

315    " 

210    " 


50  torn 
Cabbage. 

240  lbs!" 
&«)    •' 
140    " 

•10    " 
310    " 

60    " 


"  That  is  rather  an  interesting  table,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  In  the 
case  of  lime,  tlio  crop  takes  about  all  that  this  heavy  dressing  of 
maiuiro  supplies — but  I  suppose  the  soil  is  usually  capable  of  fur- 
nishing a  considerable  quantity." 

"  That  may  be  so,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  all  the  authorities  on 
market  gardening  speak  of  the  importance  of  either  growing  cab- 
bage on  land  containing  lime,  or  else  of  applying  lime  as  a  manure. 
Quinn,  wIkj  writes  like  a  .sensible  man,  says  in  h  s  book,  'Money 
in  tiie  Garden,'  '  A  top-dressing  of  lime  every  tliird  year,  thiHy  or 
forty  busliels  per  acre,  spread  broadcast,  and  harrowed  in,  just  be- 
fore planting,  pays  handsomely.' " 

Ilenilerson  thinks  cabbage  can  only  be  grown  successfully  on 
land  containing  abundance  of  lime.  He  has  used  heavy  dressings 
of  lime  on  land  which  did  not  contain  shello,  and  the  result  was 
satisfactory  for  a  time,  but  he  found  it  too  expensive. 

Experience  seems  to  show  that  to  grow  large  crops  of  perfect 
cabbage,  the  soil  must  be  liberally  furnished  with  manures  rich  in 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid. 

In  saying  this,  I  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  cabbage  require  a 
large  quantity  of  potash.  I  tliink,  however,  that  when  large  quan- 
tities of  stabh>  or  barn-yard  manure  is  used,  it  will  rarely  be  found 
that  the  soil  lacks  potash. 

Wliat  we  need  to  grow  a  large  crop  of  cabbage,  is  manure  from 
well-fed  animals.  Such  manure  can  rarely  be  purchased.  Now, 
tJie  diflference  between  rich  manure  and  ordinary  stable  or  bam- 


MANURES    FOIi    SPECIAL    CKOl'S.  293 

yard-manure,  consists  principally  in  tliis  :  Tiie  rich  manure  con- 
tains more  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  tiian  the  ordinary  stable- 
manure — and  it  is  in  a  more  available  condition. 

To  convert  conmion  manure  into  rich  manure,  therefore,  we  nmst 
add  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid.  In  other  words,  we  must  use 
Peruvian  guano,  or  nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate,  or  bone- 
dust,  or  some  other  substance  that  will  furnish  available  nitrogen 
and  phosphoric  acid. 

Or  it  may  well  be,  where  stal)le-manure  can  be  iKJUglit  for  |1.00 
per  two-horse  load,  that  it  will  be  cheaper  to  use  it  in  larger  (pian- 
tity  rather  tiian  to  try  to  make  it  rich.  In  this  case,  however,  we 
must  endeavor  to  follow  the  cabbage  by  some  crop  that  has  the 
iwwer  of  taking  up  the  large  quantity  of  nitrogen  and  other  plant- 
food  that  will  be  leit  in  the  soil. 

The  cabbage  needs  a  large  supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  but  re- 
moves comparatively  little  of  it.  We  see  that  when  75  tons  of 
manure  is  used,  a  crop  of  50  tons  of  cabbage  takes  out  of  the  soil 
less  than  30  per  cent  of  the  nitrogen.  And  yet,  if  you  plant  cab- 
bage on  this  land,  the  next  year,  without  manure,  you  would  get 
a  small  crop. 

"  It  cannot  be  for  want  of  nitrogen,"  said  the  Deacon. 

"  Yes  it  can,"  said  I.  "  The  ciibbage,  especially  the  early  kinds, 
must  have  in  the  soil  a  much  larger  quantity  of  available  nitrogen 
than  the  plants  can  use." 

I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  a  large  crop  of  cabbage  could  be 
raised,  year  after  year,  if  furnished  only  with  a  large  supi)ly  of  avail- 
able nitrogen.  In  such  a  case,  the  soil  would  soon  lack  the  necessary 
inorganic  ingredients.  But,  what  I  mean,  is  this  :  "Where  land  has 
been  heavily  manured  for  some  years,  we  could  often  raise  a  good 
crop  of  cabbage  by  a  liberal  dressing  of  available  nitrogen,  and  still 
more  frequently,  if  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  were  both  used. 

You  may  use  what  would  be  considered  an  excessive  quantity 
of  ordinary  stable-manure,  and  grow  a  large  crop  of  cabbage;  but 
still,  if  you  plant  cabbage  the  next  year,  without  manure  of  any 
kind,  you  will  get  a  small  crop;  but  dress  it  with  a  manure  con- 
taining the  necessary  amount  of  nitrogen,  and  you  will,  so  far  as 
the  supply  of  plant-food  is  concerned,  be  likely  to  get  a  good  crop. 

In  such  circumstances,  I  tliink  an  application  of  800  lbs.  of  ni- 
trate of  soda  per  acre,  costing,  say  $:j2,  would  be  likely  to  afford  a 
very  handsome  profit. 


For  lettuce,  in  addition  to  well  prepared  rich  /and,  I  should  sow 
3  lbs.  of  superphosphate  to  eac'.i  scjuare  rod,  scattered  in  the  rows 


294  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

before  drilling  in  the  seed.  It  will  favor  the  formation  of  fibrous 
roots  and  stimulate  the  growtli  of  the  young  plants. 

In  raising  onions  from  seed,  v/e  require  an  abundance  of  rich, 
well-rotted  manure,  clean  land,  and  early  sowing. 

Onions  rre  often  raised  year  after  year  on  the  same  land.  That 
this  entails  a  great  wa.ste  of  manure,  is  highly  probable,  but  it  is 
not  an  easy  matter  to  get  ordinary  farm-land  properly  jirepared 
for  onions.  It  needs  to  be  clean  and  free  from  stones  and  rubbish 
of  all  kinds,  and  when  once  it  is  in  good  condition,  it  is  thought 
better  to  continue  it  in  onions,  even  though  it  may  entail  more  or 
less  loss  of  fertility. 

"  What  do  3'ou  mean,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  by  loss  of  manure  ?" 

"  Simply  this,"  said  I.  "  We  use  a  far  greater  amount  of  plant- 
food  in  the  shape  of  manure  than  is  removed  by  the  crop  of  onions. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  this  fact,  it  is  found,  as  a  matter  of  ex- 
perience, that  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  if  we  would  raise  a  large 
and  profitable  crop,  to  manure  it  every  year." 

A  few  experiments  would  tlirow  much  light  on  this  matter.  I 
should  expect,  when  land  had  been  heavily  dressed  every  year  for 
a  few  years,  with  slable-manure,  and  annually  sown  to  onions, 
that  800  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia,  or  of  nitrate  of  soda,  or  1,200 
lbs.  of  Peruvian  guano  would  give  as  good  a  crop  as  25  or  30  tons 
of  manure.  Or  perhaps  a  better  plan  would  be  to  apply  10  or  15 
loads  of  manure,  and  600  lbs.  of  guano,  or  400  lbs.  sulphate  of  am- 
monia. 


CHAPTER     XXXV. 

MANURES   FOR   GARDENS  AND   ORCHARDS. 

MANURE  FOR  MARKET-GARDENS. 
The  chief  dependence  of  the  market  gardener  must  be  on  the 
stable-manure  which  he  can  obtain  from  the  city  or  village.  The 
chief  defect  of  this  manure  is  that  it  is  not  rich  enough  in  avail- 
able nitrogen.  The  active  nitrogen  exists  principally  in  the  urine, 
and  this  in  our  city  stables  is  largely  lost.  A  tov  of  fresh,  unmixed 
horse-dung  contains  about  9  lbs.  of  nitrogen.  A  ton  of  horse-urine, 
31  lbs.  But  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  The  nitrogen  in 
the  dung  is  contained  in  the  crude,  undigested  portions  of  the 
food.  It  is  to  a  large  extent  insoluble  and  unavailable,  while  the 
nitrogen  in  the  urine  is  soluble  and  active. 


MANUUES    FOR    GARDEXS    AND    ()K(  HAKDS.  2l»5 

Till'  iiiarktt-i^iirck'iuT,  of  course,  has  lo  take  siiclj  iiiaiiurc  as  lie 
can  ujc't,  and  the  only  points  to  be  consideird  are  (1),  whether  he 
had  belter  continue  to  use  an  excessive  (luantity  of  the  manure,  or 
(2),  to  buy  substiinces  rich  in  available  nitrogen,  and  either  mix 
Ihcm  with  the  manure,  or  apply  them  separately  to  the  soil,  or  (3), 
whether  he  can  use  this  hoi-se-manure  as  bedding  for  pigs  lo  be 
fed  on  rich  nitrogenous  food. 

The  latter  plan  1  adopt  on  my  own  farm,  and  in  this  way  I  get 
a  very  rich  and  active  manure.  I  get  available  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash,  at  far  cheaper  rates  than  they  can  be  purchased  in 
the  best  commercial  fertilizers. 

Pigs  void  a  large  amount  of  urine,  and  as  pigs  arc  ordinarily 
kept,  much  of  this  liquid  is  lost  for  want  of  sutBcient  bedding  to 
absorb  it.  With  the  market-gardener  or  nurseryman,  who  draws 
large  quantities  of  horse-manure  from  the  city,  this  need  not  be 
the  case.  The  necessary  buildings  can  be  constructed  at  little  cost, 
and  the  horse-manure  can  be  used  freely.  The  pigs  should  be  fed 
on  food  rich  in  nitrogen,  such  as  bran,  malt-combs,  iirewers'  grains, 
the  refuse  animal  matter  from  the  slaughter-houses  or  butchers' 
stores,  lish  scrap,  pea  or  leiitil-mcal,  palm-nut  cake,  or  such  food 
as  will  furnish  the  most  nitrogenous  food,  other  things  being 
equal,  at  the  cheapest  rate. 

The  market-gardener  not  only  requires  larsrc  quantities  of  rich 
manure,  but  he  wants  them  to  act  quickly.  The  nurseryman  who 
sets  out  a  block  of  trees  which  will  occup\^  the  ground  for  three, 
four,  or  five  years,  may  want  a  "lasting  manure,"  but  such  is  not 
the  case  with  the  gardener  who  grows  crops  which  he  takes  off  the 
land  in  a  few  months.  As  long  as  he  continues  to  use  horse  or 
cow-manure  freely,  he  need  not  trouble  himself  to  get  a  slow  or 
lasting  manure.  His  great  aim  should  be  to  make  the  manure  as 
active  and  available  as  possible.  And  this  is  especially  the  case  if 
he  occupies  clayey  or  loamy  land.  On  sandy  land  the  manure  will 
decompose  more  rapidly  and  act  quicker. 

"  There  are  many  facts,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  show  that  an 
artificial  applfcation  oT  water  is  equivalent  to  an  application  of 
manure.  It  has  been  shown  that  market-gardeners  find  it  neces- 
sary to  apply  a  much  larger  amount  of  plant-food  to  the  soil  than 
the  crops  can  take  up.  This  they  have  to  do  year  after  year.  And 
it  may  well  be  that,  when  a  supply  of  water  can  be  had  at  slight 
cost,  it  will  be  cheaper  to  irrigate  the  land,  or  water  the  plants, 
rather  than  to  furnish  such  an  excess  of  manure,  as  is  now  found 
necessarj'.  Even  with  ordinary  farm-crops,  we  know  that  they  feel 
the  eflfects  of  drouth  far  less  on  rich  land  than  on  poor  land.     la 


29G  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

otlier  words,  a  liberal  supply  of  plant  food  enables  the  crops  to 
flourish  witli  less  water;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  greater  supply 
of  water  will  enable  tlie  crops  to  flourish  with  a  less  supply  of 
plant-food.  The  market-gardeners  should  look  into  this  question 
of  irrigation. 

MANURES  FOR  SEED-GROWING   FARMS. 

In  growing  garden  and  vegetable  seeds,  much  labor  is  neces- 
sarily employed  per  acre,  and  consequently  it  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  produce  a  good  yield.  The  best  and  cleanest  land  is  neces- 
sary to  start  with,  and  then  manures  must  be  appropriately  and 
(reely  used. 

"  But  not  too  frcel}-,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  for  I  am  told  it  is  quite 
possible  to  have  land  too  rich  for  seed-growing." 

It  is  not  often  that  the  land  is  too  rich.  Still,  it  may  well  be  that 
for  some  crops  too  much  stable-manure  is  used.  But  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  when  such  manure  gives  too  much  growth  and  too  little 
or  too  poor  seed,  the  trouble  is  in  the  quality  of  the  mapure.  It 
contains  too  much  carbonaceous  matter.  In  other  words,  it  is  so 
poor  in  nitrogen  and  jihosphoric  acid,  that  an  excessive  quantity 
has  to  be  nsed. 

Tho'remedy  consists  in  making  richer  manures  and  using  a  less 
Quantity,  or  use  lialf  the  quantity  of  stable-manure,  and  appl}'  the 
rectified  or  prepared  Peruvian  guano,  at  the  rate  of  300  lbs.  or  400 
lbs.  per  acre,  or  say  200  lbs.  superphosphate  and  300  lbs.  nitrate  of 
soda  i>er  acre. 

Where  it  is  very  important  1o  have  the  seeds  ripen  early,  a  lib- 
eral dressing,  say  400  lbs.  per  acre,  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  will 
be  likely  to  prove  beneficial. 

MANURE  FOR  PRIVATE  GARDENS. 

I  once  had  a  small  garden  in  the  city,  and  having  no  manure,  I 
depended  entirely  on  thorough  cultivation  and  artificial  fertilizers, 
sucli  as  sujierpliosjihate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia.  It  was  culti- 
vated not  for  profit,  but  for  pleasure,  but  I  never  saw  a  more  pro- 
ductive piece  of  land.  I  had  in  almost  every  case  two  crops  a  year 
on  the  same  land,  and  on  some  plots  three  crops.  No  manure  was 
used,  except  the  superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and 
coal  and  wood  ashes  from  the  liouse. 

About  5  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  was  sown  broadcast  to  the 
square  -rod,  or  worked  into  the  soil  very  thoroughly  in  the  rows 
where  the  seed  was  to  be  sown.  Superphosphate  was  applied  at 
the  same  rate,  but  instead  of  sowing  it  broadcast,  I  aimed  to  get  it 
as  near  the  seed  or  the  roots  of  plants  as  possible. 


I 


MANUEES    FOTl    GARnENS    AND    ORCHARDS.  297 

Half  a  teaspuonful  of  the  iiiixturi',  consisting?  of  equal  parts  of 
superphosphate  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  stirred  into  a  large  three 
gallon  can  of  water,  and  sprinkled  on  to  a  bed  of  verbeuas,  seemed 
to  have  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  size  and  brilliancy  of  the  tiowers. 

Even  to  this  ila}-,  although  I  have  a  good  supply  of  rich  barn- 
yard-manure, I  do  not  like  to  be  without  some  good  artificial  ma- 
nure for  the  garden. 

MANURE  FOR  HOTBEDS. 

The  best  manure  for  hot-beds  is  horse  or  sheep-dung  that  has 
been  used  as  bedding  for  pigs. 

When  fresh  stable  manure  is  used,  great  pains  should  be  taken  to 
save  all  the  urine.  In  other  words,  you  want  the  horse-dung 
thoroughly  saturated  with  urine. 

The  heat  is  produced  principally  from  the  carbon  in  the  manure 
and  straw.  Iiut  you  need  active  nitrogenous  matter  to  start  the  fire. 
And  the  richer  the  manure  is  in  nitrogenous  matter,  and  the  more 
thoroughly  this  is  distributed  through  the  manure,  the  more  readily 
will  it  ferment.  There  is  also  another  advantage  in  having  rich 
manure,  or  manure  well  saturated  with  urine.  You  can  make  the 
heap  more  compact.  Poor  manure  has  to  be  made  in  a  loose  heap, 
or  it  will  not  ferment ;  but  such  manure  as  we  are  talking  about 
can  be  trodden  down  quite  firm,  and  still  ferment  rapid  enough  to 
give  out  the  necessary  heat,  and  this  compact  heap  will  continue 
to  ferment  longer  and  give  out  a  steadier  heat,  than  the  loose  heap 
of  poor  manure. 

ilAXURE    FOR    NURSERYMEN. 

Our  successful  nurse lymen  purchase  large  quantities  of  stable 
and  other  manures  from  the  cities,  drawing  it  as  fast  as  it  is  made, 
and  putting  it  in  piles  until  wanted.  They  usually  turn  the  piles 
once  or  twice,  and  often  three  times.  This  favors  fermentation, 
greatly  reducing  it  in  bulk,  and  rendering  the  manure  much  more 
soluble  and  active.  It  also  makes  the  manure  in  the  heap  more 
imiform  in  quality. 

Messrs.  Ellwanger  &  Barry  tell  me  that  they  often  ferment  the 
manure  that  they  draw  from  the  stables  in  the  city,  and  make  it  so 
fine  and  rich,  that  they  get  but  one  load  of  rotted  manure  from 
three  loads  as  drawn  from  the  stables.  For  some  crops,  they  use 
at  least  20  loads  of  this  rotted  manure  per  acre,  and  they  esti- 
mate that  each  load  of  this  rotted  manure  costs  at  least  $5.00. 

H.  E.  Hooker  places  the  cost  of  manure  equally  high,  but  seems 
willing  to  use  all  he  can  get,  and  does  not  think  we  can  profitably 
employ  artificial  manures  as  a  substitute. 


298  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

Ill  this  I  agree  with  hiin.  But  while  I  should  not  cXpcct  arti- 
ficial manures,  wlien  used  alone,  to  prove  as  cheap  or  as  valuable 
as  stable-manure  at  present  prices,  I  think  it  may  well  be  that 
a  little  nitrate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  superphosphate 
of  lime,  or  dissolved  Peruvian  guano,  might  be  used  as  an  auxil- 
iary manure  to  great  advantage. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Hooker,  once  sowed,  at  my  suggestion,  some  sulphate 
of  ammonia  and  superphosphate  on  part  of  a  block  of  nursery 
trees,  and  he  could  not  perceive  that  these  manures  did  any  good. 
Ellwanger  &  Barry  also  tried  them,  and  reported  the  same  nega- 
tive result.  This  was  several  years  ago,  and  I  do  not  think  any 
similar  experiments  have  been  made  since. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  used  these  self  same  manures 
on  farm-crops,  and  they  greatly  increased  the  growth." 

"  There  are  several  reasons,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  why  these  ma- 
nures may  have  failed  to  produce  any  marked  efTect  on  the  nursery 
trees.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  considerable  prejudice  against 
them, and  the  nurserymen  would  hardly  feel  like  relying  on  these 
manures  alone.  They  probably  sowed  them  on  land  already  well 
manured  ;  and  I  think  they  sowed  them  too  late  in  the  season.  I 
should  like  to  see  them  fairly  tried." 

So  would  I.  It  seems  to  me  that  nitrate  of  soda,  and  superphos- 
phate, or  dissolved  Peruvian  guano,  could  be  used  with  very  great 
advantage  and  profit  by  the  nurserymen.  Of  course,  it  would 
hardly  be  safe  to  depend  upon  them  alone.  They  should  be  used 
either  in  connection  with  stable-manure,  or  on  land  that  bad  pre- 
viously been  frequently  dressed  with  stable-manure. 

MANURE    FOR   FRUIT-GROWERS. 

How  to  keep  up  tlie  fertility  of  our  apple-orchards,  is  becoming 
an  important  question,  and  is  attracting  considerable  attention. 

There  are  two  methods  generally  recommended — I  dare  not  say 
generally  practised.  The  one,  is  to  keep  the  orchard  in  bare-fal- 
low ;  the  other,  to  keep  it  in  grass,  and  top-dress  witli  manure, and 
either  eat  the  grass  off  on  the  land  with  sheep  and  pigs,  or  else 
mow  it  frequently,  and  let  the  grass  rot  on  the  surface,  for  mulch 
and  manure. 

"  You  are  speaking  now,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  of  bearing  apple- 
orchards.  No  one  recommends  keeping  a  young  orchard  in  grass. 
We  all  know  that  young  apple  trees  do  far  better  when  the  land  is 
occupied  with  corn,  potatoes,  beans,  or  some  other  crop,  which  can 
be  cultivated,  than  they  do  on  land  occupied  with  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  rye,  buckwheat,  or  grass  and  clover.     And  even  with  bearing 


MAKUBES   Foil   GARDENS   AND   ORCHARDS.  299 

peach  trees,  I  Lave  seen  a  woiulcrful  diffLTCnce  in  an  orchard,  lialf 
of  which  was  cultivated  with  corn,  and  the  other  half  sown  with 
wheat.  The  trees  in  the  whevt  were  sickiy-h)okinir,  and  bore  a 
small  crop  of  inferior  fruit,  while  the  trees  in  the  corn,  grew  vigor- 
ously and  bore  a  line  crop  of  fruit.  And  the  increased  value  of 
the  crop  of  peaches  on  tlie  cultivated  land  was  far  more  than  we 
can  ever  hope  to  get  from  a  crop  of  wheat." 

"  And  yet,"  said  t!ie  Doctor,  "  the  crop  of  corn  on  the  cultivated 
half  of  the  peach-orchard  removed  far  more  plant-food  from  the 
soil,  than  the  crop  of  wheat.  And  so  it  is  evident  that  the  differ- 
ence is  not  due  wholly  to  the  supply  of  manure  in  the  surface-soil. 
It  may  well  be  that  the  cultivation  which  the  corn  received  favored 
the  decomposition  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  and  the  formation 
of  nitrates,  and  when  the  rain  came,  it  would  penetrate  deeper  into 
the  loose  soil  than  on  the  adjoining  land  occupied  with  wheat. 
The  rain  would  carry  the  nitrogen  down  to  the  roots  of  the  peach 
trees,  and  this  will  account  for  the  dark  green  color  of  the  leaves 
on  the  cultivated  land,  and  the  yellow,  sickly-looking  leaves  on 
the  trees  among  the  wheat. 

HEN-MANURE,  AND    WHAT    TO    DO    WITH    IT. 

A  bushel  of  corn  fed  to  a  hen  would  give  no  more  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  in  the  shape  of  manure,  tlian  a  Iju.sliel 
of  corn  fed  to  a  pig.  The  manure  from  the  pig,  however,  taking 
the  urine  and  solid  excrement  together,  contain  83  per  cent  of 
■water,  while  tiiat  from  the  hen  contains  only  5G  per  cent  of  water. 
Moreover,  hens  pick  up  worms  and  insects,  and  their  food  in  such 
case  would  contain  more  nitrogen  than  the  usual  food  of  pigs,  and 
the  manure  would  be  correspondingly  richer  in  nitrogen.  Hence 
it  happens  that  100  lbs.  of  dry  hen-manure  would  usually  be  richer 
in  nitrogen  than  100  lbs.  of  dry  pig-manure.  But  feed  pigs  on 
peas,  and  hens  on  corn,  and  the  dry  pig-manure  would  be  much 
richer  in  nitrogen  than  the  dry  hen-manure.  The  value  of  the 
manure,  other  things  being  equal,  depends  on  the  food  and  not  on 
the  animal. 

Let  no  m;in  think  he  is  going  to  make  his  farm  any  richer  by 
keeping  hens,  ducks,  and  geese,  than  he  will  by  keeping  sheep, 
pigs,  and  horses. 

"Why  is  it,  then,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "that  hen-dung  proves 
pueh  a  valuable  manure.  I  would  rather  have  a  hundred  lbs.  of 
hen-dung  than  half  a  ton  of  barnyard-manure  ?  " 

"  And  I  presume  you  are  right,"  said  I,  "  but  you  must  recollect 
that  your  hen-manure  is  kept  until  it  is  almost  chemically  dry.    Let 


>00  TALKS    OX    :vrANURES. 


us  figure  up  what  the  half  ton  of  manure  and  the  100  /bs.  of  hen- 
munure  would  contain.     Here  are  the  figures,  side  by  side  : 


Water  (estimated)    Vi  lbs. 

Organic  Matter 51    " 

AsTi I_37    '^ 

Nitrogen SJ  " 

Potash IJ  " 

Lime 4^  " 

I'hosplioric  acid t  3    " 


100  ««s.  dry    Half  ton 
Ben- Ma-  |  Coiv  Dung 
nure.       with  straio. 
TTo   lbs. 
203     " 
J2     " 

r^v 

3     " 


I  would,  myself,  far  rather  have  100  lbs.  of  your  dry  hen-manure 
than  half  a  ton  of  your  farmyard-manure.  Your  hens  are  fed  on 
richer  food  than  your  cows.  The  100  lbs.  of  hen-manure,  too, 
would  act  much  more  rapidly  than  the  half  ton  of  cow-manure. 
It  would  probably  do  twice  as  much  good — possibly  three  or  four 
times  as  much  good,  on  the  first  crop,  as  the  cow-manure.  The  ni- 
trogen, bcimr  obtained  from  richer  and  more  digestible  food,  is  in 
a  much  more  active  and  available  condition  than  the  nitrogen  in 
the  cow-dung. 

"  If  yoxi  go  on,''  said  the  Deacon,  "  I  tliink  you  will  prove  that  I 
am  right." 

"  I  have  never  doubted,"  said  I,  "  tlic  great  value  of  licn-dung,  as 
compared  with  barnyard-manure.  And  all  I  wish  to  show  is,  that, 
notwithstanding  its  acknowledged  value,  tlie  fact  remains  that  a 
given  quantity  of  the  same  kind  of  food  will  give  no  greater 
amount  of  fertilizing  matter  when  fed  to  a  hen  tliaii  if  fed  to  a  pig." 

I  want  those  farmers  who  find  so  much  benefit  from  an  ap|ilica- 
tion  of  hen-manure,  ashes,  and  plaster,  to  tlieir  corn  and  potatoes, 
to  feel  that  if  tliey  would  keep  better  cows,  sheep,  and  pigs,  and 
feed  tliem  better,  they  would  get  good  pay  for  their  feed,  and  the 
manure  would  enable  them  to  grow  larger  crops. 

While  we  have  been  talking,  the  Deacon  was  looking  over  the 
tables.  (See  Appendix.)  "  I  see,"  said  he,  "  that  wheat  and  rye 
contain  more  nitrogen  than  hen-manure,  but  less  potash  and  phos- 
I^horic  acid." 

"  This  is  true,"  said  I,  "  but  the  way  to  compare  them,  in  order 
to  see  the  effect  of  passing  the  wheat  through  the  hen,  is  to  look  at 
the  composition  of  the  air-dried  hen-dung.  The  fresh  hen-dung, 
according  to  the  table,  contains  56  per  cent  of  water,  while  wheat 
contains  less  than  14^  per  cent." 

Let  us  compare  the  composition  of  1,000  lbs.  air-dried  hen-dung 
with  1,000  lbs.  of  air-dried  wheat  and  rye,  and  also  with  bran, 
malt-combs,  etc. 


I 


MANURES    KOU    (i.VUDENS    ANT)    ORCIIAUDS.  301 

Phoi<phoric 

yUroi/'ii.  Potash.  Arid. 

Wheat 3(i.8  5.:;  7.9 

Wheat  Bran -'2.4        14.8  27.3 

Rje 17.0  5.fi  8.4 

Rye  Bran 2:i.2        19.:i  U.'i 

Buckwheat 14.4  2.7  5.7 

Buckwlieat  Bi-an 27.2        11.2  12.5 

Malt-roots 36.8        20.6  18.0 

Air-<iry  Uen-duiif; 32.6        17.0  30.8 

'"  That  table,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  well  worth  studying.  You 
SCO,  that  when  wheat  is  put  through  the  process  of  milling,  the 
miller  takes  out  as  much  of  the  starch  and  gluten  as  he  wants,  and 
leaves  you  a  pro  luct  (bran),  richer  in  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and 
nitrogen,  than  you  gave  him." 

"  And  the  same  is  true,"  continued  the  Do.ctor,  "  of  the  hen.  You 
gave  her  2,000  grains  of  wheat,  containing  41.6  grains  of  nitrogen. 
She  puts  this  through  the  mill,  together  with  some  ashes,  and 
hones,  that  she  picks  up,  and  she  takes  out  all  the  starch  and  fat, 
and  nitrogen,  and  phosphate  of  lime,  that  she  needs  to  sus- 
tain life,  and  to  produce  flesh,  bones,  feathers,  and  eggs,  and 
leaves  you  1,000  grains  of  manure  containing  32.G  grains  of  nitro- 
gen, 17.0  grains  of  potash,  and  30.8  grains  of  pliosplioric  acid.  I 
do  not  say,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  that  it  takes  exactly  2,000 
grains  of  wheat  to  make  1.000  grains  of  dry  manure.  I  merely 
give  these  figures  to  enable  tlie  Deacon  to  understand  wliy  1,000 
lbs.  of  hen-dung  is  worth  more  for  manure  than  1,000  lbs.  of 
wheat." 

"  I  must  admit," said  the  Deacon,"  that  I  always  have  been  trou- 
bled to  understand  why  wheat-bran  was  worth  more  for  manure 
than  the  wheat  itself.  I  see  now — it  is  because  there  is  less  of  it. 
It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  boiled  cider  is  richer  than  the  cider 
from  which  it  is  made.  The  cider  has  lost  water,  and  the  bran  has 
lost  starch.  What  is  left  is  richer  in  nitrogen,  and  potash,  and 
phosphoric  acid.  And  so  it  is  with  manure.  The  animals  take 
out  of  the  food  tlie  starch  and  fat,  and  leave  the  manure  richer  in 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash." 

"  Exactl}',"  s:iid  I,  "  Mr.  Lawes  found  by  actual  experiment,  that 
if  you  feed  500  ll)s.  of  barley-meal  to  a  pig,  containing  420  lbs.  of 
dry  substance,  30U  get  only  70  lbs.  of  dry  substance  in  the  manure. 
Of  the  420  lbs.  of  dry  substance,  276.2  lbs.  are  used  to  support  res- 
piration, etc. ;  73.8  lbs.  are  found  in  the  increase  of  the  pig,  and  70 
lbs  in  tlie  manure." 

The  food  contains  52  lbs.  of  nitrogenous  matter  ;  the  increase  of 
pig  contains  7  lbs.,  and  consequently,  if  there  is  no  loss,  the  ma- 


302  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

nurc  shou'  1  contiiin  4.'3  lbs  of  iiitroLreiMms  bubstuiice=:to  7.14  lbs. 
of  nitrogen. 

'•  Id  other  words,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  70  lbs.  of  dry  liquid  and 
solid  pig-manure  contains  7.14  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  or  100  lbs.  would 
contain  10.2  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  which  is  more  nitrogen  than  we  now 
get  in  the  very  best  samples  of  PenuMan  guaiio." 

"And  thus  it  will  be  seen,"  .said  1,  "  that  though  corn-fed  pigs, 
leaving  out  the  bedding  an<l  water,  produce  a  very  small  quantity 
of  manure,  it  is  exceedingly  rich." 

The  table  from  which  these  facts  were  obtained,  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix — pages  ;342-y. 


CUAPTEK     XXXVl. 

DIFFERENT    KINDS  OF   MANURE. 

COW-MANURE,  AND  HOW   TO   USE  IT. 

"It  will  do  more  good  if  fermontcd,"  said  a  German  farmer  in 
the  nciL:lil)orhood,  who  is  noted  for  raising  good  crops  of  cabbage, 
''  but  I  like  hog-manure  better  than  cow-dung.  The  right  way  is 
to  mix  thchog-raanure,  cow-dung,  and  horse-manure  together." 

";Nodoul»t  about  tliat,"  said  I,  "  but  when  you  have  a  good 
many  cows,  and  few  other  animals,  how  wonld  you  manage  the 
manure  ?" 

"  I  would  gather  leaves  and  swamp-muck,  and  use  thom  for  bed- 
ding the  cows  and  pigs.  Leaves  make  s|)lon  lid  beddina,  and  they 
make  ricii  manure,  and  the  cow-dung  and  leaves,  when  made  into 
a  pile,  will  ferment  readily,  nnd  make  grand  manure  for — any- 
thing.    I  only  wish  I  hail  all  I  could  use." 

There  is  no  question  but  what  cow-manure  is  belter  if  fermented, 
but  it  is  not  always  convenient  to  pile  it  during  the  winter  in  such 
a  way  that  it  will  not  freeze.  And  in  this  case  it  may  be  the  better 
plan  to  draw  it  out  on  to  the  land,  as  opportunity  oflFers. 

"I  have  heard,"  said  Charley,  " that  pig-manure  was  not  good 
for  cabbage,  it  produces  '  fingers  and  toes,'  or  club  foot." 

Possibly  such  is  the  caf«>  when  there  is  a  predisposition  to  the 
disease,  but  our  German  friend  says  he  has  never  found  any  ill- 
eflFects  from  its  use. 


DIKKKKKNT    KINDS    OK    MAM   KE.  303 

"  Cows,"  said  tlif  Doctor,  "  when  giviiii;  a  hirice  (luanlily  of 
milk,  makt'  rather  poor  manure.  The  muuure  loses  what  the  milk 
takes  from  the  food." 

"  We  have  shown  what  that  loss  is,"  s:iiil  I.  "  It  amounts  to  less 
than  I  tiiink  is  generally  supposed.  And  in  the  winter,  when  the 
cow.sare  ilry,  the  manure  would  be  as  rieh  as  from  oxen,  provided 
both  were  fed  alike.  See  Appendix,  pagi-  'M2.  It  will  there  be 
seen  that  oxen  take  out  only  4.1  li)s.  of  nitrogen  from  100  llts.  of 
nitrogen  consumed  in  the  food.  In  otlier  wonls,  provided  there 
is  no  loss,  wc  should  get  in  the  li(iuid  and  solid  excrements  of  the 
ox  and  drj'  cow  "J").;)  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  furnished  in  the 
food,  and  a  still  higher  per  cent  of  the  mineral  matter. 

SllEEP-MAXUKE. 

According  to  Prof.  WolflTs  table  of  analyses,  sheep-manure,  both 
solid  and  liquid,  contain  less  watf^r  than  the  manure  from  horses, 
cows,  or  swine.  With  the  exception  of  swine,  the  solid  dung  is 
also  the  riciiest  in  nitrogen,  while  tiie  urine  of  siicep  is  pre- 
eminently rich  in  nitrogen  and  potash. 

These  facts  are  in  accordance  with  the  general  o|>inionsof  farm- 
ers. Sheep-manure  is  considered,  next  to  hen-manure,  the  most 
valuable  manure  made  on  the  farm. 

I  do  not  think  we  have  any  satisfactory  evidence  to  prove  that 
3  tons  of  clover-hay  and  a  ton  of  corn  fed  to  a  lot  of  fattening- 
sheep  will  afford  a  quantity  of  manure  contaiMin?  anymore  i>lant- 
food  than  the  s;imo  kind  and  amount  of  food  fid  to  a  lot  of  fat- 
tening-cattle.  The  experiments  of  Lawes  &  Gilbert  indicate  that 
if  there  is  any  diff'-rence  it  is  in  favor  of  the  ox.  See  Appendi.x, 
page;U;{.  But  it  may  w  11  l)e  tiiat  it  is  much  easier  to  save  the 
manure  from  the  sheep  than  from  the  cattle.  And  so,  practically, 
Bheep  may  be  better  manure-makers  than  cattle — for  the  simple 
reason  that  less  of  the  urine  is  lost. 

"As  a  rule,"  said  the  Doctor,  "the  dung  of  sheep  contains  far 
less  water  than  the  dung  of  cattle,  though  when  you  slop  your 
breeding  ewes  to  make  them  give  more  milk,  tlie  dung  differs  but 
little  in  appearance  from  that  of  cows.  Ordinarily,  liowevcr.  sheep- 
dung  is  light  and  dry,  and,  like  horse-dung,  will  ferment  much 
more  rapidly  than  cow  or  pig-<lung.  In  piling  manure  in  the  win- 
ter or  spring,  special  pains  should  be  used  to  mix  tiie  sheep  and 
horse-manure  with  the  cow  and  pia-manure.  And  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  for  any  crop  or  for  any  purpose  where  stable-manure 
is  deemed  desirable,  sheep-manure  would  be  a  better  substitute 
than  cow  or  pig-manure." 


304  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


MANURE    FROM    SWINE. 


The  dry  matter  of  hog-manure,  especially  the  urine,  is  rich  in 
nitrogen,  but  it  is  mixed  with  such  a  large  quantity  of  water  that 
a  ton  of  hog-manure,  as  it  is  usually  found  in  the  pen,  is  less  valu- 
able than  a  ton  of  horse  or  aheep-manure,  and  only  a  little  more 
valuable  than  a  ton  of  cow-manure. 

As  I  have  before  said,  my  own  plan  is  to  let  the  store-hogs  sleep 
in  a  basement-cellar,  and  bed  them  with  horse  and  slicep-raanure. 
I  have  this  winter  over  50  sows  under  the  horse-stable,  and  the 
manure  from  8  horses  keeps  them  dry  and  comfortable,  and  we 
arc  not  specially  lavish  with  straw  in  bidding  the  horses. 

During  the  summer  we  aim  to  keep  the  hogs  out  in  the  pastures 
and  orcliards  as  much  as  possil)le.  This  is  not  only  good  for  the 
health  of  the  pigs,  but  saves  labor  and  straw  in  the  management 
of  the  manure.  It  goes  directl}^  to  the  land.  The  pigs  are  good 
grazers  and  distribute  tlie  manure  as  evenly  over  the  land  as  sheep 
— in  fact,  during  hot  weather,  sheep  are  even  more  inclined  to  hud- 
dle together  under  the  trees,  and  by  the  side  of  the  fence,  than 
pigs.     This  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  larger  breeds  of  sheep. 

In  the  winter  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  save  all  the  liquid 
and  solid  excrements  from  pigs,  provided  the  pens  are  dry  and  no 
water  comes  in  from  the  rain  and  snow.  As  pigs  are  often  man- 
aged, this  is  the  real  difhculty.  Pigs  void  an  enormous  quantity 
of  water,  especially  when  fed  on  slops  from  the  house,  whey,  etc.  If 
they  are  kept  in  a  pen  with  a  separate  feeding  and  sleeping  apart- 
ment, both -should  be  under  cover,  and  the  feeding  apartment  may 
be  kept  covered  a  foot  or  so  thick  with  tlie  soiled  bedding  from 
the  sleeping  apartment.  When  the  pigs  get  up  in  a  morning,  they 
will  go  into  the  feeding  apartment,  and  the  liquid  will  be  dis- 
charged on  the  mass  of  manure,  straw,  etc. 

"Dried  muck,"  said  the  Deacon,  "comes  in  very  handy  about  a 
pig-pen,  for  absorbinij  the  liquid." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  even  dry  earth  can  be  used  to  great  advan- 
tage, not. merely  to  absorb  the  liquid,  but  to  keep  the  pens  sweet 
and  healthy.  The  three  chief  points  in  saving  manure  from  pigs 
are:  1,  To  have  the  pens  under 'cover;  3,  to  keep  the  feeding 
apartment  or  yard  covered  with  a  thick  mass  of  strawy  manure 
and  refuse  of  any  kind,  and  3,  to  scatter  plenty  of  dry  earth  or 
dry  muck  on  the  floor  of  the  sleeping  apartment,  and  on  top  of 
the  manure  in  the  feeding  apartment." 

"  You  feed  most  of  your  pigs,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  out  of  doors 
in  the  yard,  and  they  sleep  in  the  pens  or  basement  cellars,  and  it 


DIFFERENT   KINDS    OF   MAKUEB. 


305 


seems  to  mc  to  be  a  good  plan,  as  they  get  more  fresh  air  and  ex- 
ercise than  if  confined." 

"  We  do  not  lose  much  manure,"  said  I,  "  by  feeding  in  the  yards. 
You  let  a  dozen  pigs  sleep  in  a  pen  all  night,  and  as  soon  as  they 
hear  you  putting  the  food  in  the  troughs  outside,  they  come  to  the 
door  of  the  pen,  and  there  discharge  the  liquid  and  solid  excre- 
ments on  the  mass  of  manure  left  there  on  purpose  to  receive  and 
absorb  them.  I  am  well  aware  that  as  pigs  are  often  managed,  we 
lose  at  least  half  the  value  of  their  manure,  but  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  this.  A  little  care  and  thought  will  save  nearly  the  whole 
of  it. 

BUYING    MANURE    BY    ^fEASURE    OR    WEIGHT. 

The  Deacon  and  I  have  just  been  weighing  a  bushel  of  different 
kinds  of  manure  made  on  the  farm.  We  made  two  weighings  of 
each  kind,  one  thrown  in  loose,  and  the  other  pressed  down  firm. 
The  following  is  the  result : 

WEIGHT   OP   MANURE   PER  BUSUEL,   AND   PER   LOAD   OF  50  BUSHELS. 


No. 


KIND   AND   CONDITION   OF   MANURES. 


V= 


>v  fq  ^  i    .S  O  3 
«;;        .5      U  K^  rf3 


iFresh  Lorsc-maniirc  free  from  straw 

I      "  "  "  '•         "         '"     piL'SScri. 

Fresh  liorse-minure,  as  used  for  bedding  pi'^s. 

Horse-manure  from  piLj  cellar 

I     "  •'  "       '•        "    ])ressed.  . 

iPi?-nianure 

"       "      pressed  

Ipis^-niannre  and  dry  earlli  

Sliecp-manure  from  o|)eii  shed 

I      "  "  "        "        "    pressed.. 

Sheep-manure  from  closed  shed 

I      ».  .1  I.        li  i.    pressed. 

Fresh  cow-dung,  free  fiom  straw 

Ilen-manure 

I     "         ••       pressed   


pressed. 


lbs. 

5.5 
28 
4(i 
50 
T2 
57 
75 
98 
42 
65 
28 
38 
87 
34 
4S 


lbs. 
1875 
2750 
1400 
2:;00 
2500 
3600 
2850 
3750 
4000 
2100 
3250 
1400 
1900 
4.350 
1700 
2400 


"  In  buying  manure,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  it  makes  quite  a  differ- 
ence whether  the  load  is  trod  down  solid  or  thrown  loosely  into  the 
box.  A  load  of  fresh  hor.se-manure,  when  trod  tlown,  weighs  half 
as  much  again  as  when  thrown  in  loose." 

"  A  load  of  horse-manure,"  said  Charley,  "  after  it  has  been  used 
for  bedding  pigs,  weighs  3,600  lbs.,  and  only  2,300  lbs.  when  it  is 
thrown  into  the  pens,  and  I  suppose  a  ton  of  the  '  double- worked ' 
manure  is  fully  as  valuable  as  a  ton  of  the  fresh  horse-manure.  If 
so,  15  '  loads'  of  the  pig-pen  manure  is  equal  to  34  '  loads'  of  the 
stable-manure." 


306 


TALKS   ON  MANURES. 


"A  ton  of  fresh  horse-manure,"  saiel  the  Doctor,  "contains 
about  9  lbs.  of  nitrogen  ;  a  ton  of  fresh  cow-dung  about  6  lbs.;  a 
ton  of  fresh  sheep-dung,  11  lbs.,  and  a  ton  of  fresh  pig-manure,  13 
lbs.  But  if  the  Deacon  and  you  weighed  correctl}-,  a  '  load '  or 
cord  of  cow-manure  would  coutiiu  more  nitrogen  than  a  load  of 
pressed  horse-manure.    The  figures  arc  as  follows : 

A  load  of  50  bushels  of  fresh  horse-dung,  pressed 

and  free  from  straw  contains 12.37  lbs.  nitrogen. 

A  load  of  fresh  cow-dung 13.05    "  " 

"  "         sheep"    10.45    "  " 

"  "         pig       "    22.50    " 

"These  figures,"  said  I,  "show  how  necessary  it  is  to  look  at 
this  subject  in  all  its  aspects.  If  I  was  buying  manures  by  weight, 
I  would  much  prefer  a  ton  of  sheep-manure,  if  it  had  been  made 
under  cover,  to  any  other  manure  except  hen-dung^  especially 
if  it  contained  all  tlie  urine  from  the  sheep.  But  if  buying  manure 
by  the  load  or  cord,  that  from  a  covered  pig-pen  would  be  prefer- 
able to  any  other." 

LIQUID    MANURE    ON    THE    FARM. 

I  have  never  had  any  personal  experience  in  the  use  of  liquid 
manure  to  any  crop  except  grass.  At  Rothamsted,  Mr.  Lawcs  used 
to  draw  out  the  liquid  manure  in  a  water-cart,  and  distribute  it 
on  grass  land. 

"  What  we  want  to  know,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  is  whether  the 
liquid  from  our  barn-yards  will  pay  to  draw  out.  If  it  will,  the 
proper  method  of  using  it  can  be  left  to  our  ingenuity." 

According  to  Prof.  Wolff,  a  ton  of  urine  from  horses,  cows, 
sheep,  and  swine,  contains  the  following  amounts  of  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  and,  for  the  sake  of  comparison,  I 
give  the  composition  of  drainage  from  the  barn-yard,  and  also  of 
fresh  dung  of  the  different  animals : 

TABLE    SHO-WISO    TUB   AMOUNT    OP  KITROOEK,   PnOSiPHOniC   ACID,    AND    TOTASH, 

IN  ONE   TON   op   THE  FKESH    DUNG    AND   PUESII   URINE   OF    DIFFERENT 

ANIMALS,  AND  ALSO  OP  THE  DRAINAGE  OP  THE  BARN-TARD. 


Horse 

Cow 

Sheep 

Swine 

Mean 

Drainage  of  barn-yard. 


1  TON  FRESH 

DUNO. 

Nitro- 

Phos- 
2)fio)ic 

Potash. 

acid. 

lbs. 

Ibfl. 

Ibi?. 

8.8 

7.0 

7.0 

.5.8 

3  4 

2.0 

11.0 

C.2 

3.0 

12.0 

8.2 

5.2 

9.4 

0.2 

4.3      j 

1  TON  PKESII  URINE. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Phos-  I 

phoric  \  Potash, 
acid. 


11)9. 

31.0 
11.6 
39.0 

8.6 
22.5 

3  0 


lbs. 


0.2 

1.4 
0.4 
0.2 


lb?. 
30.0 

9.8 
45.3 
16.6 
25.4 

9.8 


I 


DIFFEUENT    KIXDS    OF    MANURE.  307 

The  drainage  from  a  barn-yard,  it  will  be  seen,  contains  a  little 
more  than  half  as  much  uitroi^cn  as  cow-dung ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  nitrogen  in  the  liquid  is  in  a  much  more  available  condi- 
tion than  that  in  the  dung.  It  contains,  also,  nearly  five  times  a3 
much  potash  as  the  dung.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  with 
proper  arrangemcnta*  for  pumping  and  distributing,  this  liquid 
could  be  drawn  a  short  distance  with  profit. 

But  whether  it  will  or  will  not  pay  to  cart  away  the  drainage,  it 
is  obviously  to  our  interest  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  any  of 
the  liquid  from  running  to  waste. 

It  is  of  still  greater  importance  to  guard  against  any  loss  of 
urine.  It  will  be  seen  that,  on  the  average,  a  ton  of  the  urine  of 
our  domestic  animals  contains  more  than  twice  as  much  nitrogen 
as  a  ton  of  the  dung. 

Where  straw,  leaves,  swamp-muck,  or  other  absorbent  materials 
are  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  prevent  any  loss  of  urine,  means 
should  be  used  to  drain  it  into  a  tank  so  located  that  the  liquid 
can  either  be  pumped  back  on  to  the  manure  when  needed,  or 
drawn  away  to  the  land. 

"  I  do  not  see,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  why  horse  and  sheep-urine 
should  contain  s)  much  more  nitrogen  and  potash  than  that  from 
the  cow  and  pig." 

"  The  figures  given  by  Prof.  Wolff,"  said  I,  "  are  general  aver- 
ages. The  composition  of  the  urine  varies  greatl}'.  The  richer  the 
food  in  digestible  nitrogenous  matter,  the  more  nitrogen  will  there 
be  in  the  dry  matter  of  the  urine.  And,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  less  water  the  animal  drinks,  the  richer  will  the  urine  be  in 
nitrogen.  The  urine  from  a  sheep  fed  solely  on  turnips  would 
contain  little  or  no  more  nitrogen  than  the  urine  of  a  cow  fed  on 
turnips.  An  ox  or  a  dry  cow  fed  on  grass  would  probibly  void 
no  more  nor  no  poorer  urine  than  a  horse  fed  on  grass.  The  urine 
that  Mr.  Lawes  drew  out  in  a  cart  on  to  his  grass-land  was  made 
by  sheep  that  had  one  lb.  each  of  oil-cake  per  day,  and  one  fb.  of 
chaffed  clover-hay,  and  all  the  turnips  they  would  eat.  They  voided 
a  large  quantity  of  urine,  but  as  the  food  was  rich  in  nitrogen,  the 
urine  was  doubtless  nearly  or  quite  as  rich  as  that  analyzed  by 
Prof.  Wolff,  though  that  probably  contained  less  water. 

If  I  was  going  to  draw  out  liquid  manure,  I  should  be  very  care- 
ful to  spout  all  the  buildings,  and  keep  the  animals  and  manure  as 
much  undercover  sis  possible,  and  also  feed  food  rich  in  nitrogen. 
In  such  circumstances,  it  would  doubtless  pay  to  draw  the  urine 
full  as  well  as  to  draw  the  solid  manure. 


308 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


NIGHTSOIL   AND   SEWAGE. 

The  compo.sitioii  of  humaa  excrements,  as  compared  with  the 
mean  composition  of  the  excrements  from  horses,  cows,  slicep,  and 
swine,  so  far  as  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  are  con- 
cerned, is  as  follows : 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE  AMOUNT    OP    NITUOGEN,   PHOSI-HOUIC  Al'Il),   AND  POTASH, 

IN  ONE  TON   OF  FUEiSU   HUMAN    EXCREMENTS,    AND   IN   ONE   TON   OP  KKESH 

EXCREMENTS    FKOM    HOUSES,   COWS,   SHEEP,    AND    SWINE. 


SOLIDS. 

URINE. 

One  Ion  (:J0O0  lbs). 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phm- 
photic 
acid. 

Potash. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Plm- 
p/ioric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Human  

20  0 11)8. 

21.8  lbs. 

5.0  lbs. 

12.0  lbs.    3.7  lbs. 

4.0  lbs. 

Mean  of  horse,  cow,  slieep, 
and  swine 

9.4  '= 

6.2  '• 

4.3  " 

22.5  '•      •0.4  " 

25.4  " 

One  ton  of  fresh  faeces  contains  more  than  twice  as  much  nitro- 
gen, and  more  tliau  tlircc  times  as  much  phosphoric  acid,  as  a  ton 
of  fresh  mixed  animal-dung.  The  nitrogen,  too,  is  probably  in  a 
more  available  condition  than  that  in  common  barnyard-dung; 
and  we  should  not  be  far  wrong  in  estimating  1  ton  of  faeces  equal 
to  2i  tons  of  ordinary  dung,  or  about  equal  in  value  to  carefully 
preserved  manure  from  liberally-fed  sheep,  swine,  and  fattening 
cattle. 

"  It  is  an  unpleasant  job,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  it  pays  well  to 
empty  the  vaults  at  least  twice  a  year." 

"  If  farmers,"  si'd  the  Doctor, "  would  only  throw  into  the  vaults 
from  time  to  time  some  dry  earth  or  co:il  a.><hcs,  the  contents  of 
the  vaults  could  be  removed  without  any  disagreeable  smell." 

"  That  is  so,"  said  I,  "  and  even  where  a  vault  has  been  shame- 
fully neglected,  and  is  full  of  offensive  matter,  it  can  be  cleaned 
out  without  difficulty  and  without  smell.  I  have  cleaned  out  a 
large  vault  in  an  hour.  We  were  drawing  manure  from  the  yards 
■with  three  teams  and  i)iling  it  in  the  field.  We  brought  back  a  load 
.f  sand  and  threw  half  of  it  into  the  vault,  and  put  the  other  half 
on  one  side,  to  be  used  as  required.  Tiie  sand  and  faeces  were  then, 
ivith  a  long-handled  sliovcl,  thrown  into  the  wagon,  and  drawn  to 
the  pile  of  manure  in  the  field,  and  thrcwn  on  to  the  pile,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  inclies  thick.  The  team  brought  back  a  load  of 
sand,  and  so  we  continued  until  the  work  was  done.  Sand  or  dry 
earth  is  cheap,  and  we  used  all  that  was  necessary  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  any  unpleasant  gases,  and  to  keep  the  material  from  ad- 
hering to  the  sliovels  or  the  wagon. 

"  Human  urine,"  said  tLe  Doctor,  "  is  richer  in  phosphoric  acid, 


1 


DIFFEKENT    KINDS    OF    MANURE.  309 

but  much  poorer  in  nitrogen  and  potash  thau  the  urine  from 
horses,  cows,  sheep,  and  swine." 

"  Some  years  ago,"  said  tlie  Deacon,  "  Mr.  H.  E.  Hooker,  of  Roch- 
ester, used  to  draw  considerable  quantities  of  urine  from  the  city 
to  his  farm.  It  would  pay  better  to  draw  out  the  urine  from  farm 
animals." 

"  The  figures  given  above,"  said  I,  "  showing  the  composition  of 
human  excrements,  arc  from  Prof.  WoltT,  and  probably  are  gener- 
ally correct.  But,  of  course,  the  composition  of  the  excrements 
would  vary  grealh',  according  to  the  food." 

It  has  been  ascertained  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  that  the  amount  of 
matter  voided  by  an  adult  male  in  the  course  of  a  year  is— faeces, 
95  lbs.;  urine,  1,049  lbs.;  total  liquid  and  solid  excrements  in  the 
pure  state,  1,144  lbs.     These  contain : 

Dry  substance — faeces,  231  lbs.:  urine,  34i  ;  total,  58i  lbs. 
Mineral  matter— fteccs,  2i  llis.;  urine,  12  ;  total,  144  lbs. 
Carbon— faices,  10  lbs.;  urine,  12  ;  total  22  lbs 
Nitrogen— faeces,  1.2  lbs.;  urine,  10.8;  total,  12  lbs. 
Phosphoric  acid— fipccs,  0.7  lbs.;  urine,  1.93  ;  total,  2.G3  lbs. 
PoUsh— fu-ces,  0.24  lbs.;  mine,  2.01;  total,  2.25  lbs. 

The  amount  of  potash  is  given  by  Prof.  E.  WollF,  not  by  Lawes 
and  Gilbert. 

The  mixed  solid  and  liquid  excrements,  in  the  condition  they 
leave  the  body,  contain  about  95  per  cent  of  water.  It  would  re- 
quire, therefore,  20  tons  of  fresh  mixed  excrements,  to  make  one 
ton  of  dry  nightsoil,  or  the  entire  amount  voided  by  a  mixed  family 
of  43  persons  in  a  year. 

One  hundred  lbs.  ot  fresh  faeces  contain  75  lbs.  of  water,  and  25 
lbs.  of  dry  substance. 

One  hundred  lbs.  of  fresh  urine  contain  96J  lbs.  of  water,  and 
3i  lbs.  of  dry  substance. 

One  hundred  lbs.  of  the  dry  substance  of  the  faeces  contain  5  lbs. 
of  nitrogen,  and  5i  lbs.  of  phosphates. 

One  hundred  lbs.  of  the  dry  substance  of  the  urine  contain  27 
'^s.  of  nitrogen,  and  lOf  lbs.  of  phosphates. 

These  figures  are  from  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  and  may  be  taken  as 
representing  the  composition  of  excrements  from  moderately  well- 
fed  persons. 

According  to  Wolflf,  a  ton  of  fresh  human  urine  contains  12  lbs. 
of  nitrogen.     According  to  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  18  lbs. 

The  liquid  carted  from  the  city  by  Mr.  Hooker  was  from  well-fed 
adult  males,  and  would  doubtless  be  fully  equal  to  the  figures  given 
bv  Lawes  and  Gilbert.    If  we  call  the  nitrogen  worth  20  cents  a  lb., 


310  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

and  the  phosphoric  acid  (soluble)  worth  12J  cents,  a  ton  of  such 
urine  would  be  worth,  on  the  land,  $4.06. 

"A  ton  of  the  fresh  faeces,"  said  the  Deacon,  "at  the  same  esti- 
mate, would  be  worth  (30  lbs.  nitrogen,  at  20  cents,  $4;  21f  lbs. 
phosphoric  acid,  at  12^  cents,  $2.70),  $6.70." 

"  Not  by  a  good  deal,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  The  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  urine  are  both  soluble,  and  would  be  imme- 
diately available.  But  the  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  the 
faeces  would  be  mostly  insoluble.  We  cannot  estimate  the  nitrogen 
in  the  faeces  at  over  15  cents  a  lb.,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  at 
5  cents.  This  would  make  the  value  of  a  ton  of  fresh  faeces,  on  the 
land,  $4.09." 

"  This  makes  the  ton  of  faeces  worth  about  the  same  as  a  ton  of 
urine.  But  I  would  like  to  kcow,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  if  you  really 
believe  we  could  afford  to  pay  $4  per  ton  for  the  stuff  delivered  on 
the  farm  ?  " 

"If  we  could  get  the  genuine  article,"  said  the  Doctor,  "it  would 
be  worth  $4  a  ton.  But,  as  a  rule,  it  is  mi.xcd  with  water,  r.nd  dirt, 
and  stones,  and  bricks,  and  rubbish  of  all  kinds.  Still,  it  is  un- 
questionably a  valuable  fertilizer." 

"In  the  dry-earth  closets,"  said  I,  "such  a  large  quantity  of 

earth  has  to  be  used  to  absorb  the  liquid,  that  the  material,  even  if 

used  several  times,  is  not  worth  carting  any  considerable  distance. 

Dr.  Gilbert  found  that  5  tons  of  absolutely  dry  earth,  before  usinr-, 

contained  16.7  lbs.  of  nitrogen. 

Af  tCx-  being  used  once, 5  tons  of  the  dry  earth  contained  34.0  lbs. 

"  "        "    twice, "    "        "        "        "  "        36.3    " 

"  "        "    three  times,.  "    "        "        "        "  "        44.6    " 

"  "        "    four  thnes, . .  "    "        "        "        "  "        54.0    " 

"  "        "    five  times,..  "    "        "        '.'        "  "        61.4   " 

"  "        "    six  times,....  "    "        "        "        "  "        71.6    " 

Dr.  Veelcker  found  that  five  tons  of  dry  earth  gained  about  7  lbs. 
of  nitrogen,  and  11  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  each  time  it  was  used 
in  the  closets.  If  we  consider  each  lb.  of  nitrogen  with  the  phos- 
phoric acid  worth  20  cents  a  lb.,  5  tons  of  the  dry  earth,  after  being 
used  once,  would  be  worth  $1.46,  or  less  than  30  cents  a  ton,  and 
after  it  had  been  used  six  times,  five  tons  of  the  material  would  be 
worth  $11.98,  or  about  $2.40  per  ton. 

In  this  calculation  I  have  not  reckoned  in  the  value  of  the  nitro- 
gen the  soil  contained  before  using.      Soil,  on  a  fami,  is  clienp. 

It  is  clear  from  these  facts  that  any  earth-closet  manure  a  fanner 
would  be  likely  to  purchase  in  the  city  has  not  a  very  high  value. 
It  is  absurd  to  talk  of  making  "guano"  or  any  coHceutrated  fertil- 
izer out  of  the  material  from  earth-closets. 


DIFFKKKNT   KINDS    OF   MAN  CUE.  311 

"It  is  rather  a  reflection  ou  our  scicuce  and  practical  skill,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "  but  it  looks  at  present  as  though  the  only  plan  to 
adopt  in  large  cities  is  to  use  enormous  quantities  oi^  water  and 
wash  the  stuff  into  the  rivers  and  oceans  for  the  use  of  aquatic 
plants  and  fishes.  The  nitrogen  is  not  all  lost.  Some  of  it  comes 
back  to  us  in  rains  and  dews.  Of  course,  there  are  places  where 
the  sewage  of  our  cities  and  villages  can  be  used  for  irrigating 
purposes.  But  when  water  is  used  as  freely  as  it  ought  to  be  used 
for  health,  the  sewage  is  so  extremely  poor  in  fertilizing  matter, 
that  it  must  be  used  in  enormous  quantities,  to  furnish  a  dressing 
equal  to  an  application  of  20  tons  of  stable-manure  per  acre." 

"  If,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  the  sewage  is  used  merely  as  water 
for  irrigating  purposes,  that  is  another  question.  The  water  itself 
may  often  be  of  great  benefit.  This  aspect  of  the  question  has  not 
received  the  attention  it  merits." 

PERUVIAN    GUANO. 

Guano  is  the  manure  of  birds  that  live  princii^ally  on  fish. 

Fish  contain  a  high  percentage  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid, 
and  consequently  when  fish  are  digested  and  the  carbon  is  burnt 
out  of  them,  the  manure  that  is  left  contains  a  still  higher  percent- 
age of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  than  the  fish  from  which  it 
was  derived. 

Guano  is  digested  fish.  If  the  guano,  or  the  manure  from  the 
birds  living  on  fish,  has  been  preserved  without  loss,  it  would  con- 
tain not  only  a  far  higher  percentage  of  nitrogen,  bat  the  nitrogen 
would  be  in  a  much  more  available  condition,  and  consequently 
he  more  valuable  than  the  fish  from  which  the  guano  is  made. 

The  difference  in  the  value  of  guano  is  largely  due  to  a  difference 
in  the  climate  and  localit}'  in  which  it  is  deposited  by  the  birds. 
In  a  rainless  and  iiot  climate,  where  the  bird-droppings  would  dry 
rapidly,  little  or  no  putrefaction  or  fermentation  would  take  place, 
and  there  would  be  no  loss  of  nitrogen  from  the  formation  and 
escape  of  ammonia. 

In  a  damper  climate,  or  where  there  was  more  or  less  rain,  the 
bird  droppings  would  putrefy,  and  the  ammonia  would  be  liable  to 
evaporate,  or  to  be  leached  out  by  the  rain. 

Thirty  years  ago  I  saw  a  quantity  of  Peruvian  guano  that  con- 
tained more  than  18  per  cent  of  nitrogen.  It  was  remarkably  light 
colored.  Tou  know  that  the  white  part  of  hen-droppings  consists 
priacipaUy  of  uric  acid,which  contains  about  33  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

For  many  years  it  was  not  difficult  to  find  guano  containing  13 
per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  genuine  Peruvian  guano  was  the  cheap- 


312  TALKS    ON  MANURES. 

est  and  best  source  of  available  nitrogen.  But  iattcrly,  not  only 
has  the  price  been  advanced,  but  the  quality  of  the  guano  has  de- 
teriorated. It  has  contained  less  nitrogen  and  mure  phosphoric 
acid.     See  the  Chapter  on  "  Value  of  Fertilizers,"  Page  324. 

SALTS    OF   AMMONIA    AND    NITRATE    OF   SODA. 

"  I  wish,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  you  would  tell  us  something  about 
the '  ammonia-salts '  and  nitrate  of  soda  so  long  used  in  Lawes  and 
Gilbert's  experiments.     I  have  never  seen  any  of  them." 

"  You  could  not  invest  a  little  money  to  better  advantage  than 
to  send  for  a  few  bags  of  sulphate  of  anmionia  and  nitrate  of  soda. 
You  would  then  see  what  they  are,  and  would  learn  more  by  using 
them,  than  I  can  tell  you  in  a  month.  You  use  them  just  as  you 
would  common  salt.  As  a  rule,  tiic  better  plan  is  to  sow  them 
broadcast,  and  it  is  important  to  di.^lribute  them  evenly.  In  sowing 
common  salt,  if  you  drop  a  handful  in  a  place,  it  will  kill  the 
plants.  And  so  it  is  with  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate  of  ammonia. 
Two  or  three  pounds  on  a  square  rod  will  do  good,  but  if  you  put 
half  of  it  on  a  s(iuare  yard,  it  will  l)urn  up  the  crop,  and  the  other 
half  will  be  api»lied  in  such  a  small  quantity  that  you  will  see  but 
little  effect,  and  will  conclude  that  it  is  a  humbug.  Judging  from 
over  thirty  years'  experience,  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  not  one  man 
in  ten  can  be  trusted  to  sow  these  manures.  They  should  be  sown 
with  as  much  care  as  you  sow  grass  or  clover-seed." 

"The  best  plan,"  said  the  Doctor,  "is  to  mi.x  them  with  sifted 
coal-ashes,  or  with  gypsum,  or  sifted  earth." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  I,  "  though  there  is  nothing  gained  by  mix- 
ing cartii  or  as'jcs  with  them,  except  in  securing  a  more  even  dis- 
tribution. And  if  I  was  going  to  sow  them  myself,  I  would  much 
prefer  sowing  them  unmixed.  Any  man  who  can  sow  wheat  or 
barley  can  sow  sulphate  of  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda." 

"  Lawes  and  Gilbert,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  used  sulphate  and  mu- 
riate of  ammonia,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  the  carbonate  of 
ammonia.     Which  is  the  best  ?" 

"The  one  that  will  furnish  ;  mraonia  or  nitrogen  at  the  cheapest 
rate,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  is  the  best  to  use.  The  muriate  of  ammo- 
nia contains  the  most  ammonia,  but  the  sulphate,  in  proportion 
to  the  ammonia,  is  cheaper  than  the  muriate,  and  far  cheaper  than 
the  carbonate. 

Carbonat(>  of  ammonia  contains  21  i  per  cent  of  ammonia. 

Sulphate  of  ammonia  contains  25|  per  cent  of  ammonia=21V» 
of  nitrogen. 


DIFFERENT   KINDS   OF    MANURE.  313 

Muriate  of  auimuuiu  contains  31  per  cent  of  aninionia=25i  of 
nitrospn. 

Nitrate  of  so  la  contaius  16'^,  s  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

Nitrate  of  potash,  1;J|  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

From  tiiese  fiirures  you  can  ascerUiin,  when  j-ou  know  tiie  price 
of  each,  which  is  the  cheapest  source  of  nitrogen. 

"  True,"  said  I,  "  but  it  must  be  understood  tliat  tliese  figures  re- 
present the  composition  of  a  pure  article.  The  coniniercial  sul- 
phate of  ammonia,  and  nitrate  of  soda,  would  usually  contain  10 
percent  of  impurities.  Lawes  and  Gilltert,  who  have  certainly  iiad 
much  experience,  and  doui)tltss  get  the  best  commercial  articles, 
state  th  It  a  mixture  of  e([ual  parts  sulphate  and  muriate  of  ammo- 
nia contains  about  2~)  per  cent  of  ammonia.  According  to  the  fig- 
ures given  by  the  Doctor,  the  mixture  would  contain,  if  pure,  over 
28  per  ce:it  of  ammonia.  In  other  words,  90  lbs.  of  the  pure  article 
contains  as  much  as  100  lbs.  of  the  commercial  article." 

As  to  whether  it  is  better,  when  you  can  buy  nitrogen  at  the 
same  price  in  nitrate  of  soda  as  you  can  in  sulphate  of  ammonia, 
to  use  the  one  or  the  other  will  depend  on  cirtHimstances.  The 
nitrogen  exists  as  nitric  acid  in  the  nitrate  of  soda,  and  as  ammo- 
nia in  the  sulphate  of  ammonia.  But  there  are  good  reasons  to 
believe  that  before  ammonia  is  used  by  the  plants  it  is  ctrnvcrted 
into  nitric  acid.  If,  therefore,  we  could  apply  the  nitrate  just 
where  it  is  wanted  by  tlie  growing  crop,  and  when  there  is  rain 
enough  to  thoroughly  distribute  it  through  the  soil  to  the  deptii  of 
six  or  eight  inches,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  nitrate,  in 
proportion  to  the  nitrogen,  would  have  a  quicker  and  better  effect 
than  the  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

"There  is  another  point  to  be  considered,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  Nitric  acid  is  much  more  easily  washed  out  of  the  soil  than  am- 
monia. More  or  less  of  the  ammonia  enters  into  chemical  com- 
bination with  portions  of  the  soil,  and  may  be  retained  for  months 
or  years." 

When  we  use  nitrate  of  soda,  we  run  the  risk  of  losing  more  or 
less  of  it  from  leaching,  while  if  we  use  ammonia,  we  lose,  for  the 
time  being,  more  or  less  of  it  from  its  becoming  locked  up  in  in- 
soluble combinations  in  the  soil.  For  spring  crops,  such  as  barley 
or  oats,  or  spring  wheat,  or  for  a  meadow  or  lawn,  or  for  top- 
dressing  winter-wheat  in  the  spring,  the  nitrate  of  soda,  provided 
it  is  sown  early  enough,  or  at  any  time  in  the  spring,  just  previous 
to  a  heavy  rain,  is  likely  to  produce  a  better  effect  than  the  sulphate 
of  ammonia.  But  for  sowing  in  the  autumn  on  winter-wheat  the 
ammonia  is  to  be  preferred. 
U 


314  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  Saltpetre,  or  nitrate  of  potash,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  does  not 
contain  as  much  nitrogen  as  nitrate  of  soda." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  if  it  could  be  purchased  at  the 
same  price,  it  would  be  the  cheaper  manure.  It  contains  46^  per 
cent  of  potash,  and  on  soils,  or  for  crops  where  potash  is  needed, 
we  may  sometimes  be  able  to  purchase  saltpetre  to  advantage." 

"  If  I  could  come  across  a  lot  of  damaged  saltpetre,"  said  I, 
"  that  could  begot  for  whaf  it  is  worth  as  manure,  I  should  like  to 
try  it  on  my  apple  trees — one  row  with  nitrate  of  soda,  and  one  row 
with  nitrate  of  potash.  When  we  apply  manure  to  apple  trees,  the 
ammonia,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  are  largely  retained  in  the 
first  fev;  inches  of  surface  soil,  and  the  deeper  roots  get  hold  of 
only  those  portions  whicli  leach  tlirough  the  upper  layer  of  earth. 
Nitric  acid,  however,  is  easily  w-ashed  down  into  the  subsoil,  and 
would  soon  reach  all  the  roots  of  the  trees." 


CnAPTER     XXXVII. 
BONE-DUST  AND  SUPERPnOSPIIATE  OF  LIME. 

Bone-dust  is  often  spoken  of  as  a  phosphatic  manure,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  astonishing  effect  bone-dust  sometimes  pro- 
duces on  old  pasture-land,  is  due  to  its  furnishing  phosphoric  acid 
to  the  soil. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  bone-dust  furnishes  nitrogen 
as  well  as  phosphoric  acid,  and  we  are  not  warranted  in  ascribing 
the  good  effect  of  bones  to  phosphoric  acid  alone. 

Bones  differ  considerably  in  composition.  They  consist  essen- 
tially of  gelatine  and  phosphate  of  lime.  Bones  from  young  ani- 
mals, and  the  soft  porous  parts  of  all  bones,  contain  more  gelatine 
than  the  solid  parts,  or  the  l)ones  from  older  animals.  On  the  aver- 
age, 1,000  lbs.  of  good  commercial  bone-dust  contains  38  lbs.  of 
nitrogen. 

On  the  old  dairy  farms  of  Cheshire,  whore  l)one-dust  produced 
such  marked  improvement  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  tlie  pas- 
tures and  meadows,  it  was  usual  to  apply  from  4,000  to  5,000  lbs 
per  acre,  and  often  more.    In  other  words,  a  dressing  of  bone-dust 


BONE-DUST    AND    SlIPERPHOSPO  ATE    OF    LIME.  315 

frequently  rontaiiud  200  lbs.  of  nitiogcn  per  acre — equal  to  20  or 
25  tons  of  hani-yanl  inamirc. 

"It  has  been  supimsed,"  said  tlic  Doctor,  "  tliat  owing  to  the 
removal  of  so  much  phosphoric  acid  in  tlie  cheese  sold  from  tiie 
farm,  that  the  dairy  pastures  of  Chcsiiire  had  been  exhausted  of 
phosphoric  acid,  and  that  the  wonderful  benefits  following  an  ap- 
plication of  bone-dust  to  these  pastures,  was  due  to  its  supplying 
phosphoric  acid." 

"  I  do  not  doubt,"  said  I,  "  the  value  of  phosphoric  arid  when 
applied  in  connection  with  nitrogen  to  old  pasture  lands,  but  I 
contend  that  the  experience  of  the  Cheshire  dairymen  with  bone- 
dust  is  no  positive  proof  that  their  soils  were  particularly  deticient 
in  phosphoric  acid.  Tiiere  are  many  instances  given  where  the 
gelatine  of  the  bones,  alone,  proved  of  great  value  to  the  grass. 
And  I  think  it  will  be  found  that  the  Cheshire  dairymen  do  not  tind 
as  much  benefit  from  superphosphate  as  they  did  from  bone-dust. 
And  the  reason  is,  that  the  latter,  in  addition  to  the  phosphoric 
acid,  furnished  a  liberal  dressing  of  nitrogen.  Futhermore,  it  is 
not  true  that  dairying  specially  robs  the  soil  of  phosphoric  acid. 
Take  one  of  these  old  dairy  farms  in  Ciieshire,  where  a  dressing  of 
bone-dust,  according  to  a  writer  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society,  has  caused  '  a  miserable  covering  of  pink  grass, 
rushes,  and  a  variety  of  other  noxious  weeds,  to  give  place  to  the 
most  luxuriant  herbage  of  wild  clover,  trefoil,  and  other  succulent 
and  nutritious  grasses.'  It  is  evident  from  this  description  of  the 
pastures  before  the  bones  were  used,  that  it  would  take  at  least 
three  acres  to  keep  a  cow  for  a  year. 

"I  have  known,"  says  the  same  writer  quoted  above,  "many  a 
poor,  honest,  but  half  broken-hearted  man  raised  from  poverty  to 
comparative  independence,  and  many  a  sinking  family  saved  from 
inevitable  ruin  by  the  help  of  this  wonderful  manure."  And  this 
writer  not  only  spoke  from  observation  and  experience,  but  he 
showed  his  faith  by  bis  works,  for  he  tells  us  that  he  had  paid 
nearly  $50,000  for  this  manure. 

Now,  on  one  of  these  poor  dairy  farms,  where  it  required  3  acres 
to  keep  a  cow,  and  where  the  grass  was  of  poor  quality,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  cows  produced  over  250  lbs.  of  cheese  in  a  year. 
One  thousand  pounds  of  cheese  contains,  on  the  average,  about 
45^  lbs.  of  nitrogen  ;  2^  lbs.  of  potash,  and  11|  lbs.  of  phosphoric 
acid.  From  this  it  follows,  if  250  lbs.  of  cheese  are  sold  annually 
from  three  acres  of  pasture,  less  than  one  lb.  of  phosphoric  acid 
per  acre  is  exported  from  the  farm  in  the  cheese. 

One  ton  of  timothy-hay  contains  nearly  14^^  lbs.  of  phosphoric 


310  TALKS    ON    MAXDRKS. 

acid.  Ami  so  a  farna-r  who  raises  a  ton  of  tiinotliy-hay  per  arro, 
and  sells  if,  sends  olT  as  nuub  phosphoric  acitl  in  one  year  as  such 
a  Cheshire  dairyman  as  I  iiave  alluded  lo  did  in  fourteen  years. 

Wiiat  tile  dairymen  want,  and  what  farmers  generally  want,  is 
nitroi^en  and  phospiioric  acid.  Bone-dust  furnishes  both,  and  this 
was  the  reason  of  its  wonderful  effects. 

It  does  not  follow  from  this,  that  bone-dust  is  the  cheapest  and 
Itest  manure  we  can  use.  It  is  an  ohl  and  popular  manure,  and 
usually  commands  a  good  j)rice.  It  sells  for  all  it  is  worth.  A 
dozen  years  airo,  I  i)ou>;ht  ten  tons  of  iMmc-dust  at  |18  per  ton.  I 
have  otFired  $25  per  ton  since  for  a  similar  lot,  but  the  mauufac- 
turiTs  timl  a  market  in  New  York  for  ail  tluy  can  make. 


Bone-dust,  l)e.sides  nitroi^cn,  contains  about  23  per  cent  of 
l)liosphoric  acid. 

"That  does  not  give  me,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  any  idea  of  its 
value." 

"  Let  us  put  it  in  another  shape,  then,"  .said  I.  "  One  ton  of  good 
bon«-dust  contains  about  as  much  nitrogen  as  8i  tons  of  fresh 
stable-manure,  and  as  much  phosphoric  acid  as  110  tons  of  fresh 
stal)le-iuanure.  But  one  ton  of  manure  contains  more  potash  than 
5  tons  of  bone-dust. 


Bone-dust,  like  barnyard-manure,  does  not  imrai-diately  yield 
up  its  nitrogen  ami  phosphoric  acid  to  plants.  The  bone  phosphate 
of  lime  is  insoluble  in  water,  and  but  very  slightly  .soluble  in 
water  containing  carbonic  acid.  The  gelatine  of  the  bones  would 
.';oon  decompose  in  a  moi.st,  porous,  warm  soil,  provided  it  was 
not  protected  by  tlie  oil  and  by  the  hard  matter  of  the  bones. 
Steaming,  by  removing  the  oil,  removes  one  of  the  hindrances  to 
deconjposition.  Reducing  the  Itonos  as  fine  as  possible  is  another 
means  of  increasing  thi'ir  av.iilaliility. 

Another  good  method  of  increasing  the  availability  of  bone-dust 
is  to  mix  it  with  barnyard-manure,  and  let  both  ferment  together 
in  a  heap.  I  am  inclined  to  think  this  the  best,  simplest,  and 
most  economical  method  of  rendering  bone-dust  available.  The 
bone-dust  causes  the  lieap  of  manure  to  ferment  more  readily,  and 
the  fermentation  of  the  manure  softens  the  bones.  Both  the  ma- 
nure and  the  bones  are  improved  and  rendered  richer  and  more 
available  by  the  process. 


Another  method  of  increasing  the  availability  of  bone-dust  is  by 
mixing  it  with  sulplmric  acid. 


BoxE-i»usT  AND  srPKi:rin>srn.\TE  of  i.imk.        317' 

Tin-  i)li(>si)li;il('  of  liino  in  bones  is  insoluble  in  water,  Ihoiij^li 
niin  wilier  conlaiiiinj;  carbonic  acid,  and  the  water  in  soils,  slowly 
dissolve  it.  Hy  Ireatini;  the  bones  witii  sulplinric  acid,  tiic  phos- 
phate of  lime  is  decomposed  and  rendered  soluble.  ('onse(inently, 
bone-dust  treated  with  sulpiiurie  acid  will  act  much  more  rapidly 
than  ordinary  l)one-dust.  The  sulphuric  acid  does  not  make  it  any 
richer  in  phuspimric  acid  or  nitroi:en.  It  simply  renders  them  more 
availalile. 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid  for  '  dis- 
solvin;;'  l»ones,  or  rather  phosphate  of  lime,  introduced  a  new  era 
in  agriculture.  It  is  the  ^rand  ai^ricultural  fact  of  the  nineteenth 
century." 

"It  is  perhapp  not  necessary,"  said  I,  "  to  pive  any  direction  for 
treatin.:  bones  with  sulphuric  acid.  We  have  got  beyonil  that. 
We  can  now  buy  superphosphate  cheaper  tiian  we  can  make  it 
from  bones." 

"  Bui  IS  it  as  good  ?  "  asked  the  Deacon. 

"Soluble  phosphate  of  lime,"  said  I,  "is  soluble  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  it  makes  no  dilFerence  whether  it  is  made  from  burnt 
bones,  or  from  phosphatic  guano,  or  mineral  |)hosphate.  That  ques- 
tion has  been  fully  decided  by  tlie  most  satisfactory  experiments." 

"BL'fore  you  and  the  Deacon  tliscuss  that  subject,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor, "  it  would  be  well  to  tell  Charley  wiiat  supcrjjhosphate  is." 

"I  wish  you  would  tell  me,"  said  Charley. 

"Well,"  said  the  Doctor,"  phosphate  of  lime,  as  it  exists  in 
bones,  is  composed  of  tliree  atoms  of  lime  and  one  atom  «)f  phos- 
phoric acid.  Chemists  call  it  the  tricalcic  phosphate.  It  is  also 
called  the  basic  phosphate  of  lime,  and  not  unfrequcntly  the 
'bone-earth  phosphate.'  It  is  the  ordinary  or  common  form  of 
phosphate  of  lime,  as  it  exists  in  animals,  and  plants,  and  in  the 
various  forms  of  mineral  phosphates. 

"Then  there  is  another  pliosphate  of  lime,  called  the  dicalcic 
phosphate,  or  neutral  phosphate  of  lime,  or  reverted  phosi)hate  of 
lime.  It  is  composed  of  one  atom  of  water,  two  atoms  of  lime, 
and  one  atom  of  pliosphoric  acid. 

"  Then  we  have  wliat  we  call  superphosphate,  or  acid  phosphate 
of  lime,  or  more  properly  monocalcic  phosphate.  It  is  composed 
of  »wo  atoms  of  water,  one  atom  of  lime,  and  one  atom  of  phos- 
phoric acid.     This  acid  phosphate  of  lime  t.«  soluble  in  ipater. 

"The  manufacture  of  superphosphate  of  lime  is  based  on  these 
facts.  The  onr-Vmc  phosphate  is  soluble,  the  threeWmo  phosphate 
is  insoluble.  To  convert  tlie  latter  into  the  former,  all  we  have 
to  do  is  to  take  away  two  atoms  of  lime. 


318  TALKS    ON    MANIRES. 

"Sulpluiric  acid  has  a  stronger  aftiaity  for  lime  tlian  phosphoric 
acid.  And  when  you  mix  enough  sulphuric  acid  with  tinely  ground 
three-lime  phosphate,  to  take  away  two  atoms  of  lime,  you  get  t.iC 
phosphoric  acid  united  with  one  atom  of  lime  and  two  atoms  of 
water." 

"  And  what,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  becomes  of  the  two  atoms  of 
lime  ?  " 

"  They  unite  with  tlio  sulphuric  acid,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and 
form  plaster,  gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime." 

"The  molecular  weight  of  water."  continued  the  Doctor,  "  is 
18;  of  lime,  56;  of  sulphuric  acid,  80;  of  phosphoric  acid,  142. 

"  An  average  sample  of  commercial  bone  dus"t,"  continued  the 
Doctor,  "  contains  about  ijO  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime.  If  we 
take  020  lbs.  of  finely-ground  bone-dust,  containing  310  lbs.  of 
three  lime  jthosphati',  and  mi.\  with  it  IGO  ll>s.  of  sulphuric  acid 
(say  240  lbs.  common  oil  of  vitriol,  sp.  gr.  1.7),  the  sulpiiuric  acid 
will  unite  with  112  lbs.  of  lime,  and  leave  the  142  lbs.  of  phos- 
phoric acid  united  with  the  remaining  56  lbs.  of  lime." 

"And  that  will  give  j'ou,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  780  lbs.  of  'dis- 
solved bones,'  or  superphosphate  of  lime." 

"  It  will  give  you  more  than  that,"  s.iid  the  Doctor,  "  because,  as 
I  said  before,  the  two  atoms  of  lime  (112  ll>s.)  are  replaced  by  two 
atoms  (oG  lbs.)  of  water.  And,  furthermore,  the  two  atoms  of 
sulphate  of  lime  produced,  contained  two  atoms  (36  lbs.)  of  water. 
The  mi.vture,  therefore,  contains,  even  wlien  perfectly  dry,  72  lbs. 
of  water." 

"  Where  does  fliis  water  come  from?"  asked  the  Deacon. 

"  When  I  was  at  Rothamsted,"  said  1,  "  the  superpliosphate 
whic'ii  Mr.  Lawes  used  in  his  experiments  was  made  on  the  farm 
from  animal  cliarcoal,  or  burnt  i>on:s,  ground  as  fine  as  jtossible — 
the  tlner  tlie  better.  We  took  40  lbs.  of  the  meal,  and  mixed  it 
witli  20  lbs.  of  wafer,  and  then  poured  on  30  Ib.s.  of  common  sul- 
phuric acid  (sp.  g.  1.7),  and  stirred  it  up  rapidly  and  tliorouglily, 
and  then  threw  it  out  of  the  vessel  into  a  heap,  on  the  eartli-floor 
in  the  barn.  Then  mixed  another  portion,  and  so  on,  until  we  had 
the  desired  quantity,  say  two  or  three  tons.  The  last  year  I  was 
at  Rothamsted,  we  mixed  40  lbs.  bone-meal,  30  lbs.  v.-ater,  and  30 
lbs.  acid  ;  and  we  thought  the  additional  water  enabled  us  to  mix 
the  acid  and  meal  together  easier  and  better." 

"Dr.  Ilabirshaw  tells  me,"  said  tlie  Doctor,  "that  in  making 
the  '  Rectified  Peruvian  Guano' no  water  is  necessary,  and  none 
is  used.     The  water  in  tlie  txuano  and  in  the  acid  is  sufficient  to 


BONE-DUST    AXI)    SUPERPUOSl'HATE    OK    LIMi:.  .'U9 

furriisli  the  two  atoms  of  water  for  the  ph<jsphate,  and  the  two 
atoms  for  the  sulphate  of  lime." 

"Such  is  unciouliteclly  the  case,"  said  I,  "and  when  large  quan- 
tities of  superphosi)hate  are  made,  and  the  mixing  is  done  by  ma- 
chinery, it  is  not  necessary  to  use  water.  The  advantage  of  using 
water  is  in  tlie  greater  ease  of  mixing." 

"  Bone-dust,"  said  the  Doctor,  "contains  alioul  G  per  cent  of 
water,  and  the  suli)huric  acid  (sp.  g.  1.7)  contains  about  one-third 
its  weigiit  of  water.  So  tliat,  if  you  take  620  lbs.  of  bone-dust, 
and  mix  with  it  240  lbs.  of  common  suliihuric  acid,  you  have  in 
the  mixture  117  lbs.  of  water,  which  is  45  lbs.  more  than  is  needed 
to  furnisii  the  water  of  coml)iiiati()n." 

"The  superph()si)hate  produced  from  020  llis.  of  bones,  there- 
fore," continued  the  Doctor,  "would  contain: 

Phosphoric  acid )  (142  lbs. 

Limu J- acid  phosphate -{    50    " 

Water )  I    :«".    " 

Sulphuric  acid |  I  KX)  lbs. 

Lime J- sulphate  of  lime ^  112    " 

Water J  ■  {    '^>    " 

Organic  matter,  ash,  etc.,  of  the  bonc6* 3:3.">    " 

Total  dri/  superphosphate 877    " 

Moisture,  or  lo>s 45    " 

Total  mixture 92^  lbs. 

•  ConUinins  iiilro^^eii,  2.!',  Itis. 

"There  is  a  small  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  bones," 
Baid  I,  "which  would  take  up  a  little  of  tiic  acid,  and  you  will 
have  a  remarkably  good  article  if  you  calculate  that  the  020  lbs.  of 
bone-dust  furnish  you  half  a  ton  (1,000  lbs.)  of  superphosphate.  It 
will  be  a  better  article  than  it  is  practically  jjossible  to  make." 

"  Assuming  that  it  made  half  a  ton,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  it  would 
contain  14}  per  cent  of  soluble  piiosphoric  acid,  and  2^^  per  cent 
of  nitrogen." 

"With  nitrogen  at  20  cents  per  lb.,  and  soluble  phosphoric 
acid  at  12ic.  per  lb.,  this  half  ton  of  superphosphate,  made  from 
620  lbs.  of  good  bone-dust,  would  be  worth  $22.50,  or  $45  per  ton." 

"  Or,  to  look  at  it  in  another  light,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  a 
ton  of  bone-dust,  made  into  such  a  superphosphate  as  we  are  talk- 
ing about,  would  be  worth  $72.58." 

"  How  much,"  asked  the  Deacon,  "  would  a  ton  of  the  bone-dust 
be  considered  worth  before  it  was  converted  into  superphosphate  ?  " 

"A  ton  of  bone-dusl,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  contains  76  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  worth,  at  18  cents  per  lb.,  $13.68,  and  404  lbs.  phosphoric 
acid,  worth  7  cents  per  11>.,  $32.48.  In  other  words,  a  ton  of  bone- 
dust,  at  the  usual  eslimatJ,  ii  worth  $46.16." 


320  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

"  Ami,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  after  it  is  converted  into  superphos- 
phate, the  same  ton  of  bones  is  worth  $72.58.  It  thus  appears  that 
you  pay  $26.42  per  ton  for  simply  making  the  phosjihoric  acid  in 
a  ton  of  bones  soluble.  Is'a<,  it  paying  a  little  too  much  for  the 
whistle?" 

"  Possibly  such  is  the  case,"  said  I,  "and  in  point  of  fact,  I 
think  bone-dust,  especially  from  steamed  or  boiled  bones,  can  be 
used  with  more  economy  in  its  natural  state  than  in  the  form  of 
superphosphate." 

Superpliosphate  can  be  made  more  economically  from  mineral 
phosphates  than  from  bones— the  nitrogen,  if  desired,  being  sup- 
plied from  fish-scrap  or  from  some  other  cheap  source  of  nitrogen. 

But  for  my  own  use  I  would  prefer  to  buy  a  good  article  of 
superphosphate  of  lime,  containing  no  nitrogen,  provided  it  can 
be  obtained  cheap  enough.  I  would  buy  tlie  ammoniacal,  or  nitro- 
genous manure  separately,  and  do  my  own  mi.xing — unless  the 
mixture  could  be  bought  at  a  Ivss  cost  than  the  same  weight  of 
soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and  available  nitrogen  could  be  obtained 
separately'. 

A  pure  superphosphate — and  by  pure  I  mean  a  superphosphate 
containing  no  nitrogen — can  be  drilled  in  with  the  seed  without 
injury,  but  I  should  be  a  little  afraid  of  drilling  in  some  of  the 
ammoniacal  or  nitrogenous  superpliosphateo  with  small  seeds. 

And  then,  again,  the  "  nitrogen"  in  a  superphosphate  mixture 
may  be  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid,  or  sulphate  of  ammonia,  in  one 
case,  or,  in  another  case,  in  the  form  of  hair,  woollen  rags,  hide, 
or  leather.  It  is  far  more  valuable  as  nitric  acid  or  ammonia, 
because  it  will  act  quicker,  and  if  I  wanted  hair,  woollen  rags, 
horn-shavings,  etc.,  I  would  prefer  to  have  them  separate  from 
the  superphosphate. 


CHAPTER     XXXVIII. 
SPECIAL  MANURES. 

Twenty  five  to  thirty  years  ago,  nmch  was  said  in  regard  to  spe- 
cial Auanures.  Fertilizers  were  i)repared  for  the  different  crops  with 
special  reference  to  the  composition  of  the  plants. 

"But  it  was  known  then,  as  now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "that  all 
our  agricultural  jdants  were  composed  of  the  same  elements." 

"  True,  but  what  was  claimed  was  this  :  Some  crops  contain,  for 


SPECIAL    MANURES.  321 

instance,  more  phosphoric  acid  than  other  crops,  and  for  these  a 
manure  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  was  i)rovided.  Otliers  contained  a 
large  proportion  of  potasli,  and  these  were  called  '  potash  crops,' 
and  tlie  manure  prescrihed  for  them  was  rich  in  potash.  And  so 
with  the  other  ingredients  of  phints." 

"  I  recollect  it  well,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and,  in  truth,  for  several 
years  I  had  much  faith  in  the  idea.  It  was  advocated  with  con- 
summate ability  by  the  lamented  Liebig,  and  in  fact  a  patent  was 
tiiken  out  by  the  Musjrraves,  of  Liverpool,  for  the  manufacture  of 
Liebig's  Special  Manures,  based  on  this  theory.  But  the  manures, 
though  extensively  used  by  the  leading  farmers  of  England,  and 
endorsed  Ity  the  highest  authorities,  did  not  in  the  end  stand  the 
test  of  actual  farm  practice,  and  their  manufacture  was  abandoned. 
And  I  do  not  know  of  any  experienced  agricultural  chemist  who 
now  advocates  this  doctrine  of  special  manures. 

"Dr.  Vadcker  says:  '  The  a.sh-analyses  of  plants  do  not  afford 
a  sufficiently  trustworthy  guide  to  the  practical  farmer  in  selecting 
the  kind  of  manure  which  is  best  api>lied  to  each  crop.' " 

"  Never  mind  the  authorities,"  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  what  we  want 
are  facts." 

"  Well,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  take  the  wheat  and  turnip  crop  as 
an  illustration. 

"  We  will  suppose  that  there  is  twice  the  weight  of  wheat-straw 
as  of  grain  ;  and  that  to  10  tons  of  bulbs  there  is  3  tons  of  turnip- 
tops.    Now,  100  lbs.  each  of  the  ash  of  these  two  crops  contain : 

mieat  croj).  Turnip  crop. 

Phosphoric  acid 11.44  7.33 

Potash 1.5.44  32.75 

Sulphuric  acid 2.44  11.2.5 

Lime 5.09  19.28 

Magnesia 3.33  1..56 

"  There  are  other  ingredients,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  but  these 
are  the  most  important. 

"  Now,  if  you  were  going  to  compound  a  manure  for  wheat,  say 
100  lbs.,  consisting  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  what  would  be 
the  proportions  ? " 

The  Deacon  figured  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  produced  the 
following  table: 

100  LBS.    SPECIAL   MANURE   FOR    WHEAT   A:N'D   TCRNIPS. 

Wheat  manure.    Turnip  tnaiuire. 

Phosphoric  acid 42 j  lbs.  181  lbs. 

Potash 57^  "  81f  " 

100    lbs.  100    lbs. 

"Exactly,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  and  yet  the  experiments  of  Laweg 


322  TALKS    ON   MANUKES. 

and  Gilbert  clearly  prove  that  a  soil  nee  Is  to  be  richer  jn  available 
phospboric  acid,  to  produce  even  a  fair  crop  of  turnips,  than  to 
produce  a  large  crop  of  wheat.  And  the  experience  of  farmers 
everywhere  tends  in  the  same  direction.  England  is  the  greatest 
turnip-growing  country  in  the  world,  and  you  will  find  that  where 
one  farmer  applies  potash  to  turnips,  or  superphosphate  to  wheat, 
a  hundred  farmers  use  superphosphate  as  a  t<i)cciul  manure  for  the 
turnip  crop.' 

"  And  we  are  certainly  warranted  in  saying,"  continued  the  Doc- 
tor, "  </t'//  the  composition  <if  a  pdnt  affords,  in  practical  agriculture, 
and  on  ordinary  cultivated  soils,  no  8>rti'f  indicntioii  as  to  the  com- 
position of  tlie  manure  it  is  best  tc  upplt/  to  the  crop^ 

"  Again,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  if  the  theory  was  a  correct  one, 
it  would  follow  that  those  crops  which  contained  the  most  nitro- 
gen, would  require  tlie  most  nitrogen  in  the  manure.  Beans,  peas, 
and  clover  would  require  a  soil  or  a  manure  richer  in  available  ni- 
trog(;n  than  wheat,  l)arley,  or  oats.  We  know  that  the  verij  reverse 
is  true — know  it  from  actual,  and  repeated,  and  long-continued  ex- 
periments like  thos  •  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  and  from  the  common 
experience  of  fanners  everywhere." 

"  You  need  not  get  excited."  said  the  Deacon,  "  the  theory  is  a 
very  plausible  one,  and  while  I  cannot  dispute  your  facts,  I  must 
ccmfcss  I  cannot  see  why  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a 
plant  which  contains  a  large  amount  of  nitrogen  sliouid  not  want 
a  manure  specially  rich  in  nitrogen  ;  or  why  turnips  which  contain 
80  much  potash  should  not  want  a  soil  or  manure  specially  rich  in 
potash." 

"  Do  you  recollect,"  said  I,  "  that  crop  of  turnips  I  raised  on  a 
poor  blowing-sand  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  it  was  the  best  crop  of  turnips  I  ever 
saw  grow." 

"  That  crop  of  turnips,'"  said  I,  "  was  due  to  a  dressing  of  super- 
phosphate of  Ihne,  with  little  or  no  potash  in  it." 

"I  know  all  that,"  said  the  Deacon.  "I  admit  the  fact  that 
superphosphate  is  a  good  manure  for  turnips.  What  I  want  to 
know  is  the  reason  why  superphosphate  is  better  for  turnips  than 
for  wheat?" 

"Many  reasons  might  be  given,"  said  the  Doctor;  "Prof. 
Vcelcker  attributes  it  to  the  limited  fee  ling  range  of  the  roots  of 
turnips,  ns  compared  to  wheat.  'The  rpots  of  wiieat,'  says  Prof. 
Vcrlcker,  '  as  is  well  known,  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  much  greater 
depth  than  the  more  delicate  fee  ling  fibres  of  the  roots  of  turnips. 
Wheat,  remaining  on  the  ground  two  or  three  months  longer  than 


SPECIAL   MAXURBS.  3:23 

turnips,  can  avail  itself  for  a  longer  perioil  of  the  resources  of  the 
soil ;  therefore  in  most  casts  tiie  phosphoric  acid  disseminated 
through  the  soil  is  amply  sunicicnt  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
wheat  crop;  whilst  turnips,  dependiui?  on  a  thinner  depth  of  soil 
during  tlieir  shorter  period  of  growtli,  cannot  assimilate  suHicient 
phosphoric  acid,  to  come  to  prrfeclion.  This  is,  I  believe,  the 
main  reason  why  the  direct  supj)!}'  of  readily  available  phosphates 
is  so  btnrticial  to  root-crops,  and  not  to  wheal." 

"This  reason,"  said  I,  "  has  never  been  entirely  satisfactory  to 
me.  If  the  roots  of  the  turnip  have  such  a  limited  range,  how  are 
they  able  to  get  such  a  large  amonut  of  potash? 

"It  is  probable  that  the  turnip,  containing  such  a  large  relative 
amount  of  potisli  and  so  little  phosphoric  acid,  has  roots  capable 
of  absorbing  potash  from  a  very  weak  solution,  but  not  so  in  re- 
gard to  phosphoric  acid." 

"There  is  another  way  of  looking  at  this  matter,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor. "You  must  recollect  that,  if  turnips  and  wheat  were  grow- 
ing in  th"  same  field,  both  plants  gi  t  their  food  from  the  same  so- 
lution. And  instead  of  supposing  that  the  wheat-plant  has  the 
power  of  taking  up  more  phosithoric  acid  than  the  turnip-plant, 
we  may  suppose  that  the  turnip  has  the  power  of  rejecting  or  ex- 
cluding a  portion  of  phosphoric  acid.  It  takes  up  no  more  potasli 
than  the  wheal-plant,  but  it  takes  Uss  phosphoric  acid." 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  speculate  on  this  matter.  For  the 
present  we  may  accept  the  fact,  that  the  proportion  of  potash, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen  in  the  crop  is  no  indication  of  the 
proper  proportion  in  which  these  ingredients  sliould  be  applied  to 
the  soil  for  these  crops  in  manure. 

It  may  well  be  that  we  should  use  special  manures  for  special 
crops;  but  we  must  ascertain  what  these  manures  should  be,  not 
from  analyses  of  the  crops  to  be  grown,  but  from  experiment  and 
experience. 

So  far  as  present  facts  throw  light  on  this  subject,  we  should 
conclude  that  those  crops  which  contain  the  least  nitrogen  are  the 
most  likely  tu  be  benefited  by  its  artificial  application  ;  and  the 
crops  containing  ihe  most  phosphoric  acid,  are  the  crops  to  which, 
in  ordinary-  practical  agriculture,  it  will  be  unprofitable  to  apply 
superphosphate  of  lime. 

'.'  That,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  may  be  stating  the  case  a  little  too 
strong." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  I,  "  but  you  must  recollect  I  am  now  speak- 
ing of  practical  agriculture.  If  I  wanted  to  rai.se  a  good  crop  of 
cabbage,  I  should  not  think  of   consulting   a  chemical  analysis 


324  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

of  the  cabbage.  If  I  set  out  cabbage  on  an  acre  of  land,  wliich, 
wilhout  manure,  would  produce  16  tons  of  cabbage,  does  any  one 
mean  to  tell  me  that  if  I  put  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  paosphoric 
acid  and  potash  which  10  tons  of  cabbage  contain,  on  an  adjoining 
acre,  that  it  would  produce  an  extra  growth  of  10  tons  of  cabbage. 
I  can  not  b'.'lieve  it.  The  facts  are  all  the  other  way.  Plant 
growth  is  not  such  a  simple  matter  as  the  advocates  of  this  theory, 
if  there  be  any  at  this  late  day,  would  have  us  believe." 


C  n  A  r  T  E  R     XXXIX. 
VALUE  OF  FERTILIZERS. 

In  1857,  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  in  his  Report  to  the  Connecticut 

Agricultural  Society,  adopted  the  following  valuation: 

Potash 4  cents  per  lb. 

Phosphoric  acid,  insoluble  in  water 4i    "      "    " 

"             "      soluble      "      "     ....12i    "      "    " 
Nitrogen 17     "      "    " 

Analyses  of  many  of  the  leading  commercial  fertilizers  at  that 
time  showed  that,  wlicn  judged  by  this  standard,  the  i)rice  charged 
was  far  above  their  actual  value.  In  some  cases,  manures  selling 
for  $G0  per  ton,  contained  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash 
worth  only  from  $20  to  $25  per  ton.  And  one  well-known  manure, 
which  sold  for  $28  per  ton,  was  found  to  be  worth  only  $2.33  per 
ton.  A  Bone  Fertilizer  selling  at  $50  per  ton,  was  worth  less  than 
$14  per  ton. 

"In  1852,"  said  the  Doctor,  "superphosphate  of  lime  was  manu- 
factured by  the  New  Jersey  Zinc  Co.,  and  sold  in  New  York  at 
$50  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs.  At  the  same  time,  superphosphate  of 
lime  made  from  Coprolites,  was  selling  in  England  for  $24  per  ton 
of  2,240  lbs.  The  late  Prof.  Mapes  commenced  making  ''Im- 
proved Superphosphate  of  Lime,"  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1852,  and 
Mr.  De  Burg,  the  same  year,  made  a  plain  superpli'dsphate  of  lime 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  price,  in  proportion  to  value,  was  high, 
and,  in  fact,  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  of  our  superplios- 
phate  manures,  until  within  the  last  few  years. 

Notwithstanding  the  comparativelv  high  price,  and  the  uncer- 
tain quality  of  these  commercial  manures,  the  demand  has  been 
steadily  on  the  increase.     We  have  now  many  honorable  and  in- 


VALUE    OF    FERTILIZERS.  325 

telligent  men  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and  salo  of  these  artifi- 
cial manures,  and  owing  to  more  definite  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  manufacturers  and  of  the  purchasers,  it  is  not  a  difficult 
matter  to  find  manures  well  worth  the  money  asked  for  them. 

"  A  correct  analysis,"  said  I,  "  furnishes  the  only  sure  test  of 
value.  '  Testimonials '  from  farmers  and  others  are  pre-eminently 
unri'liable.  With  over  thirty  years'  experience  in  the  use  of  these 
fertilizers,  I  would  place  far  more  confidence  on  a  good  and  reli- 
able analysis  than  on  any  actual  trial  I  could  make  in  the  field. 
Testimonials  to  a  patent  fertilizer  are  about  as  reliable  as  testimo- 
nials to  a  patent-medicine.  In  buying  a  manure,  we  want  to  know 
what  it  contains,  and  the  condition  of  the  constituents." 

In  1877,  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson  gives  the  folhnviug  figures,  show- 
ing "  the  trade-values,  or  cost  in  market,  per  pound,  of  the  ordi- 
nary occurring  forms  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  as 
recently  found  in  the  New  York  and  New  England  markets : 

Cents  per  jwund. 

Nitrogen  in  ammonia  and  nitrates 24 

"        in  Peruvian  Oiiano,  tine  steamed  bone,  dried  and 

fine  ground  blood,  meat,  and  fish 20 

"        in  fine  trround  bone,  horn,  and  wool-dust 18 

"        in  coarse  bone,  horu-shavings,  and  fish-scrap 15 

Phosphoric  acid  soluble  in  water T 12i 

"  "     "  reverted,"  and  in  Peruvian  Guano 9 

"  "    insoluble,  in  fine  bone  and  fish  jruano 7 

"  "  "  in   coarse    bone,    bone-ash,   and 

bone-black 5 

•'  "  "  in  fine  ground  rock  phosphate...    3i 

Potash  in  high-c^ade  sulphate 9 

"      in  kainit,  as  sulphate 71 

"      in  muriate,  or  potassium  chloride 6 

"  These  '  estimated  values,'  "  says  Prof.  Johnson,  "  are  not  fixed, 
but  vary  with  the  state  of  the  market,  and  are  from  time  to  time 
subject  to  revision.  They  are  not  exact  to  the  cent  or  its  fractions, 
because  the  same  article  sells  cheaper  at  commercial  or  manufac- 
turing centers  than  in  country  towns,  cheaper  in  large  lots  than  in 
small,  cheaper  for  cash  than  on  time.  These  values  are  high 
enough  to  do  no  injustice  to  tlie  dealer,  and  accurate  enough  to 
serve  the  object  of  the  consumer. 

"By  multiplying  the  per  cent  of  Nitrogen,  etc.,  by  the  trade- 
value  per  pound,  and  then  by  20,  we  get  the  value  per  ton  of  the 
several  ingredients,  and  adding  the  latter  together,  we  obtain  the 
total  estimated  value  per  ton. 

"The  uses  of  the  '  Valuation  '  are,  1st,  to  show  whether  a  given 
lot  or  brand  of  fertilizer  is  worth  as  a  commodity  of  trade  what  it 
costs.     If  the  selling  price  is  no  higher  than  the  estimated  value, 


326  TALKS    ON    MANURES. 

the  purchaser  may  be  quite  sure  that  the  price  is  reasoaable.  If 
the  selling  price  is  but  $2  to  $3  per  ton  more  than  the  estimated 
value,  it  may  still  be  a  fair  price,  but  if  the  cost  per  ton  is  $5  or 
more  over  the  estimated  value,  it  would  be  well  to  look  further. 
2d,  Comparisons  of  the  estimated  values,  and  sclUng  prices  of  a 
number  of  fertilizers  will  pcncralh'  indicate  fairly  which  is  the 
best  for  the  money.  But  the  '  estimated  value '  is  not  to  be  too 
literally  construed,  for  analysis  cannot  always  decide  accurately 
wiiat  is  the/or//i  of  nitrogen,  etc.,  while  the  nu  chanical  condition 
of  a  feriilizer  is  an  item  whose  influence  cannot  always  be  rightly 
expressed  or  appreciated. 

*'  The  Agricultural  value  of  a  fertilizer  is  measured  by  the  benefit 
received  from  its  use,  and  depends  upon  its  fertilizing  effect,  or 
crop-producing  power.  As  a  broad  general  rule  it  is  true  that 
Peruvian  guano,  supei phosphates,  tish-scraps,  dried  blood,  potash 
salts,  plaster,  etc.,  have  a  high  agricultural  value  which  is  rt luted 
to  their  trade-value,  and  to  a  degree  determines  the  latter  value. 
But  the  rule  has  many  exceptions,  and  in  particular  instances  the 
trade-value  cannot  always  ic  expected  to  fix  or  even  to  indicate 
the  agricultural  value.  Fertilizing  elfect  depends  largely  upon  soil, 
crop,  and  weather,  and  as  these  vary  from  place  to  place,  and  from 
year  to  year,  it  cannot  be  foretold  or  estimated  except  by  the 
results  of  past  experience,  and  then  only  in  a  general  and  probable 
manner." 

*'  It  will  be  seen,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  Prof.  Johnson  places 
a  higher  value  on  potash  now  than  he  did  20  years  ago.  He  re- 
tains the  same  figures  for  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and  make  s  a  very 
just  and  proper  discrimination  between  the  different  values  of  dif- 
ferent forms  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid." 

"The  prices,"  said  I,  "are  full  as  high  as  farmers  can  afford  to 
pay.  But  there  is  not  much  probability  that  we  shall  see  them 
permanently  reduced.  The  tendency  is  in  the  other  direction.  In 
a  public  address  Mr.  J.  B.  Lawes  has  recently  remarked:  'A 
future  generation  of  British  farmers  will  doubtless  hear  with  some 
surprise  that,  at  the  close  of  the  manure  .season  of  1876,  there  were 
40,000  tons  of  nitrate  of  soda  in  our  docks,  wliich  could  not  find 
purchasers,  although  the  price  did  not  exceed  £12  or  £13  per  ton.' " 

"  lie  evidently  thinks,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  available  nitro- 
gen is  cheaper  now  than  it  will  be  in  years  to  come." 

"  Nitrate  of  s  da,"  said  I,  "at  the  prices  named,  is  only  2J  to  SJ- 
cents  per  1  .,  and  the  nitrogen  it  contains  would  cost  less  than  18 
cents  per  lb.,  instead  of  24  cents,  as  given  by  Prof.  Johnson." 

"No.  1  Peruvian  Guano,  'guaranteed,'  is  now  sold,"  said  the 


1 


I 


VAI.UK    OF    FERTILIZERS.  327 

Doctor,  "  at  a  price  per  ton,  to  be  detcrmiued  by  its  composition, 
at  the  following  rates: 

Valiu2Kr  pouTid. 

Nltrocen  (ammonia,  ITlc. ) 2Uc. 

Soluble  pbos|>horic  acid 10  c. 

Reverted        "  "    8  c. 

Insoluble        "  "     3  c. 

Potash,  as  sulphate  and  phosphate Tic. 

"The  first  cargo  of  Penivian  guano,  sold  under  this  guarantee, 
contained : 

Value j)er  ton. 

Ammonia fi.S  per  cent 123.80 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid..  3.8    "      "   7.60 

Reverted        "  "    ..11.5    "      "   18. -W 

Insoluble        "  "    ..  3.0    "      "  1.20 

Potash 3.7    "      "   .^    5^ 

Estimated  retail  price  per  ton  of  2,0(K)  lbs $56..'i5 

Marked  on  bags  for  sale :$5G.00 

The  second  cargo,  sold  under  this  guarantee,  contained  : 

Value  jjer  ton. 

Ammonia 11.5  per  cent $40.50 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid. .  5.4    "      "    10.80 

Reverted        "  "    ..10.0    "      "   16.00 

Insoluble       "  "    ..  1.7    "      "  68 

Potash 2.3    "      "    •^A'*? 

$71.43 
Selling  price  marked  on  bags |70.00 

"It  is  interesting,"  said  I,  " to  compare  these  analyses  of  Peru- 
vian guano  of  to-day,  with  Peruvian  guano  brought  to  England 
twenty-nine  or  thirty  years  ago.  I  saw  at  Rothamsted  thirty  years 
ago  a  bag  of  guano  that  contained  22  per  cent  of  ammonia.  And 
farmers  could  then  buy  guano  guaranteed  by  the  dealers  (not  by 
the  agents  of  the  Peruvian  Government),  to  contain  16  per  cent  of 
ammonia,  and  10  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid.  Price,  £9  5s.  per 
ton  of  2,240  lbs.— say  $40  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs. 

The  average  composition  of  thirty-two  cargoes  of  guano  im- 
ported into  England  in  1849  was  as  follows : 

Ammonia 17.41  per  cent. 

Phosphoric  acid 9.75   "       " 

Alkaline  salts 8.75  "      " 

At  the  present  valuation,  adopted  by  the  Agents  of  the  Peruvian 
guano  in  New  York,  and  estimating  that  5  per  cent  of  the  phos- 
phoric acid  was  soluble,  and  4  i)er  cent  reverted,  and  that  there 
was  2  lbs.  of  potash  in  the  allialine  salts,  this  guano  would  be 
worth : 


328  TALKS   Ol!i  MANUEBS. 

Value  per  ton  o/ 2,000  lb«. 

Ammonia 17.41  per  cent $60.93 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid..  5  00    "      "  10.00 

Kevorted        "  "    ..  4.00     "      "  6.40 

Insoluble        "  "    ..      75     "      "  30 

Potagh 3.00    "      "  3.00 

*80.63 
Selling  price  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs $40.00 

Ichaboe  guano,  which  was  largely  imported  into  England  in 
l844:-5,  and  used  extensively  as  a  manure  for  turnips,  contained, 
on  the  average,  7+  per  cent  of  ammonia,  and  14  per  cent  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  Its  value  at  the  present  rates  we  may  estimate  as 
follows : 

Ammonia,  7i  per  cent $26.25 

Soluble  Phosphoric  acid,  4  per  cent 8.00 

Kevertud        "  "    10        "        16.00 

'  $50.25 
Selling  price  per  ton  of  2,000  lbs $31.80 

The  potash  is  not  given,  or  this  would  probably  add  four  or  five 
dollars  to  its  estimated  value. 

"All  of  whicli  goes  to  show,"  said  the  Deacon,  "that  the  Peru- 
vian Government  is  asking,  in  proportion  to  value,  from  two  to 
two  and  a  half  times  as  much  for  guano  as  was  charged  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  ago.  That  first  cargo  of  guano,  sold  in  New 
York  under  the  new  guarantee,  in  1877,  for  $56  per  ton,  is  worth 
no  more  than  the  Ichaboe  guano  sold  in  England  in  1845,  for  lcs3 
than  $23  per  ton  ! 

"  And  furthermore,"  continued  the  Deacon,  "  from  all  that  I  can 
leani,  the  guano  of  the  present  day  is  not  only  far  poorer  in  nitro- 
gen than  it  was  formcrh',  but  the  nitrogen  is  not  as  soluble,  and 
consequently  not  so  valuable,  pound  for  pound.  ^luch  of  the 
guano  of  the  present  day  bears  about  the  same  relation  to  genuine 
old-fashioned  guano,  as  leached  ashes  do  to  unleached.  or  as  a  ton 
of  manure  that  has  been  leached  in  the  barn-yard  does  to  a  ton 
that  has  been  kept  under  cover." 

"True,  to  a  certain  extent,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  you  must 
recollect  that  this  '  guaranteed '  guano  is  now  sold  by  analysis. 
You  pay  for  what  you  get  and  no  more." 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  but  what  you  get  is  not  so  good. 
A  pound  of  nitrogen  in  the  leached  guano  is  not  as  available  or  as 
valuable  as  a  pound  of  nitrogen  in  tlie  unleached  guano.  An  this 
fact  ought  to  be  understood." 

"One  thing,"  said  I,  "seems  clear.  The  Peruvian  Government 
is  charging  a  consid(  rably  higher  price  for  guano,  in  proportion 
to  its  actual  value,  than  was  charged  20  or  25  years  ago.     It  may 


I 


VAT.UE    OF    FERTILIZEIiS.  329 

be,  Uiat  the  ffuano  is  still  the  cheapest  manure  in  tlie  market,  but 
at  any  rale  the  price  is  higiier  than  formerly — while  there  has  been 
no  corresponding  advance  m  the  price  of  produce  iu  the  markets 
of  the  world." 

POTASH    AS    A    MANURE. 

On  land  whore  fish,  fish-scrap,  or  guano,  has  been  used  freely 
for  some  years,  and  the  crops  exported  from  the  farm,  we  may  ex- 
pect a  relative  deficiency  of  potash  iu  the  soil.  In  such  a  case,  an 
application  of  unleachcd  ashes  or  potash  salts  will  be  likely  to 
pro.kice  a  decided  benefit. 

Clay  or  loamy  land  is  usually  richer  in  potash  than  soils  of  a 
more  sandy  or  gravelly  character.  And  on  poor  sandy  land,  the 
use  of  fish  or  of  iruano,  if  the  crops  are  all  sold,  will  be  soon  likely 
to  prove  of  little  benefit  owing  to  a  deficiency  of  potash  in  the  soil. 
They  vaay  produce  good  crops  for  a  few  years,  but  the  larger  the 
crops  produced  and  sold,  the  more  would  the  soil  become  deficient 
in  potash. 

We  have  given  the  particulars  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  experi- 
ments on  barley.  Mr.  Lawes  at  a  late  meeting  in  London,  staled 
that  "  he  had  grown  25  crops  of  barley  one  after  the  other  with 
nitrogen,  either  as  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda,  but  without 
potash,  and  that  by  tlie  use  of  potash  the}'  had  produced  practically 
no  better  result.  This  year  (1877),  for  the  tirst  time,  the  potash 
had  failed  a  little,  and  they  had  now  produced  10  or  12  bushels 
more  per  acre  with  potash  than  without,  showing  that  they  were 
coming  to  the  end  of  the  available  potash  in  the  soil.  This  year 
(1877),  they  obtained  54  bushels  of  barley  with  potash,  and  42 
bushels  without  it.  Of  coursn,  this  was  to  be  expected,  and  they 
had  expected  it  much  sooner.  The  same  with  wheat ;  he  expected 
the  end  would  come  in  a  few  years,  but  they  had  now  gone  on  be- 
tween 30  and  40  years.  "When  the  end  came  they  would  not  be 
sorry,  because  then  they  would  have  the  knowledge  they  were 
seeking  for." 

Dr.  Toelcker,  at  the  same  meeting  remarked :  "  Many  soils  con- 
tained from  1|  to  2  per  cent  of  availaJjle  potash,  and  a  still  larger 
quantity  locked  up,  in  the  shape  of  minerals,  which  only  gradually 
came  into  play ;  but  the  quantity  of  potash  carried  off  in  crops 
did  not  exceed  2  cwt.  per  acre,  if  so  much.  Now  0.1  per  cent  of 
any  constituent,  calculated  on  a  depth  of  six  inches,  was  equiva- 
lent to  one  ton  per  acre.  There  ""ore,  if  a  soil  contained  only  0.1 
per  cent  of  potash,  a  ton  of  potash  might  be  carried  off  from  a 


330  TALKS    ON   MANURES. 

depth  of  6  inches.  But  jdu  had  not  only  0.1  per  cent,  but  some- 
thing like  H  per  cent  and  upwards  in  many  soils.  It  is  quite  true 
there  were  many  soils  from  which  you  could  not  continuously 
take  crops  witliout  restoring  the  potash." 

"  In  all  of  which,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  there  is  nothing  new.  It 
does  not  help  us  to  determine  whether  potash  is  or  isnot  deficient 
in  our  soil." 

"  That,"  said  I,  "  can  be  ascertained  only  by  actual  experiment. 
Put  a  little  hen-manure  on  a  row  of  com,  and  on  another  row  a 
little  hen-manure  and  ashes,  and  on  another  row,  ashes  alone,  and 
leave  one  row  without  anyth.ng.  On  my  farm  I  am  satisfied  that 
we  need  not  buy  potasli-salts  for  manure.  I  do  not  say  they  would 
do  no  good,  for  they  may  do  good  on  land  not  deficient  in  availa- 
ble potash,  just  as  lime  will  do  good  on  land  containing  large 
quantities  of  lime.  But  potash  is  not  what  my  land  needs  to  make 
it  produce  maximum  crops.  It  needs  available  nitrogen,  and 
possibly  soluble  phosphoric  acid." 

The  system  of  farming  adopted  in  this  section,  is  much  more 
likely  to  impoverish  the  soil  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  than 
of  potash. 

If  a  soil  is  deficient  in  potash,  the  crop  which  will  first  indicate 
the  deficiency,  will  probably  be  clover,  or  beans.  Farmers  who  can 
grow  large  crops  of  red-clover,  need  not  buy  potash  for  manure. 

On  farms  where  grain  is  largely  raised  and  sold,  and  where  the 
straw,  and  corn-stalks,  and  hay,  and  the  hay  fiom  clover-seed  are 
retained  on  the  farm,  and  this  strawy  manure  returned  to  the  land, 
the  soil  will  become  poor  from  the  lack  of  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phoric acid  long  before  there  would  be  any  need  of  an  artificial 
supply  of  potash. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  farmers  should  use  fish,  or  guano,  or 
superphosphate,  or  nitrate  of  soda,  and  sell  all  the  hay,  and  straw, 
and  potatoes,  and  root-crops,  they  could  raise,  many  of  our  sandy 
soils  would  soon  become  poor  in  available  potash.  But  even  in 
this  case  the  clover  and  beans  would  show  the  deficiency  sooner 
than  wheat  or  even  potatoes. 

"  And  yet  we  are  told,"  said  the  Deacon,"  that  potatoes  contain 
no  end  of  potash." 

"And  the  same  is  true,"  said  I,  "of  root-crops,  such  as  mangel- 
wurzel,  turnips,  etc.,  but  the  fact  has  no  other  significance  than 
this:  If  you  grow  potatoes  for  many  years  on  the  same  land  and 
manure  them  with  nitrogenous  manures,  the  soil  is  likely  to  be 
speedily  impoverished  of  potash." 

"  But  suppose,"  said  the  Deacon,  "  that  you  grow  potatoes  on  the 


VALUE    OF    FE UTILIZERS.  331 

same  land  without  manure  of  any  kind,  would  not  the  soil  become 
equally  poor  in  potash  ?" 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  because  you  would,  in  such  a  case,  get  very 
small  crops — small,  not  from  lack  of  potash,  but  from  lack  of  nitro- 
gen. If  I  had  land  which  had  grown  corn,  potatoes,  wheat,  oats, 
and  hay,  for  many  years  without  manure,  or  an  occasional  dress- 
ing of  our  common  barnyard-manure,  and  wanted  il  to  produce  a 
good  crop  of  potatoes,  I  should  not  expect  to  get  it  by  simply 
applying  potash.  The  soil  might  be  poor  in  potash,  but  it  is 
almost  certain  to  be  still  poorer  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid. 

Land  that  has  been  manured  with  farm  yard  or  stable  manure 
for  years,  no  matter  how  it  has  been  cropped,  is  not  likely  to  need 
potash.  The  manure  is  richer  in  potash  than  in  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid.     And  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  soil. 

If  a  farmer  uses  nitrogenous  and  phosphatic  manures  on  his 
clave}'  or  loamy  land  that  is  usually  relatively  rich  in  potash,  and 
will  appl}'  his  common  manure  to  tlie  sandy  parts  of  the  farm,  he 
will  rarely  need  to  purchase  manures  containing  potash. 


332  TALKS  OK  MA.NU11ES. 


C  U  A  P  T  E  R    XL. 
RESTORING    FERTILITY    TO    THE    SOIL. 

BY   SIB  J.    B.    LA\VE3,  B.UIT.,  LL.D.,    F.K.S.,    KOTUAMSTED,    ENO. 

A  relation  of  mine,  wlio  already  possessed  a  very  consider' 
able  estate,  consisting  of  lij^ht  land,  about  twenty  j'ears  ago 
purchased  a  large  properly  adjoining  it  at  a  very  high  price. 
These  were  days  when  farmers  were  flourishing,  and  they  no 
more  anticipated  what  was  in  store  for  them  in  the  future, 
than  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  in  the  days  of  Noah. 

Times  have  changed  since  then,  and  bad  seasons,  low  prices 
of  wheat,  and  cattle-disease,  have  swept  off  the  tenants  from 
these  two  estates,  so  that  my  relatii^i  finds  himself  now  in  the 
position  of  being  the  unhappy  owner  and  occupier  of  five  or 
six  farms,  extending  over  several  thousand  acres — one  farm 
alone  occupying  an  area  of  two  thousainl  four  liinidred  acres. 
Fortunately  for  the  owner,  he  possi'sses  town  projierty  in  addi- 
tion to  his  landed  estates,  so  that  the  question  with  him  is  not, 
as  it  is  with  many  land  owners,  how  to  find  the  necessary  capi- 
tal to  cultivate  the  land,  but,  having  found  the  capital,  how  to 
expend  it  in  farming,  so  as  to  produce  a  proper  return. 

It  is  not  very  siirprising  that,  under  these  circumstances,  my 
opinion  should  have  been  asked.  What,  indeed,  would  have 
been  the  use  of  a  relation,  who  not  only  spent  all  his  time  in 
agricultural  experiments,  but  also  pretended  to  teach  our 
neighbors  how  to  farm  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  if  he 
could  not  bring  his  science  to  bear  on  the  land  of  an  adjoining 
county  !  Here  is  the  land — my  relation  might  naturally  say — 
here  is  the  money,  and  I  have  so  much  confidence  in  your 
capacity  that  I  will  give  you  carte-hhtnchc  to  spend  as  nmch  as 
you  please — what  am  I  to  do  ? 

An  inspection  of  the  property  brought  out  the  following  facts 
—that  all  the  land  was  very  light,  and  that  you  might  walk 
over  the  fresh  plowed  surface  in  the  wettest  weather  without 
any  clay  sticking  to  your  boots  :  still  a  portion  of  the  soil  was 
dark  in  color,  and  therefore  probably  contained  a  sufficient 
amount  of  fertility  to  make  cultivation  profitable,  provided  the 
management  could  be  conducted  with  that  care  and  economy 
which  arc  absolute  essentials  in  a  business  where  the  expendi- 
ture is  always  pressing  closely  upon  the  income. 


llESTOHIXG    FEIITILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  '^'-V-) 

Upon  land  of  this  doscriptiou  nicat-making  is  the  backbone 
of  the  system,  whic-h  must  be  adopted,  and  a  large  breeding 
flock  of  sheep  the  first  essential  towards  success. 

Science  can  make  very  little  im{)rovement  upon  the  four- 
course  n>tation — roots,  barlej",  clover,  and  wheat,  unless,  per- 
haps, it  may  be  by  keeping  the  land  in  clover,  or  mixed  grass 
and  clover,  for  two  or  three  years. 

A  g(xid  deal  of  the  land  I  was  inspecting  was  so  light,  that,  in 
fact,  it  was  hardly  more  than  sand,  and  for  some  years  it  had  been 
left  to  glow  anything  that  came  up,  undisturbed  by  the  plow. 

To  a  practised  t-ye,  the  character  of  the  natural  vegetation  is 
a  sure  indication  of  the  fertiUt\'  of  the  soil.  Where  herds  of 
buffaloes  are  to  Ije  seen — their  sides  shaking  with  fat — it  is 
quite  evident  that  the  p^istures  ui)on  which  they  feed  cannot 
be  very  bad  ;  and  in  the  same  way,  where  a  rank  growth  of 
weeds  is  found  springing  up  upon  land  that  has  been  abandon- 
ed, it  may  be  taken  for  certain  that  the  elements  of  food  exist 
in  the  soil.  Tliis  ground  was  covered  with  vegetation,  but  of 
the  most  im[X)verished  descriptiim,  even  the  "Quack"  or 
"Couch-grass"  could  not  form  a  regular  carpet,  but  grew  in 
small,  detached  bunches  ;  everything,  in  fact,  bore  evidence  of 
poverty. 

Possibly,  the  first  idea  which  might  occur  to  any  one,  on 
seeing  land  in  this  state,  miglit  be  :  Wh}-  not  grow  the  crops  by 
the  aid  of  artificial  manures? 

Let  us  look  at  the  question  from  two  points  of  view  :  first,  in 
regard  to  the  cost  of  the  ingredients  ;  and,  secondly,  in  regard 
to  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

We  will  begin  with  wheat.  A  crop  of  wheat,  machine-reap- 
ed, contains,  as  carted  to  the  stack,  about  six  pounds  of  soil  in- 
gredients in  every  one  hundred  pounds  ;  that  is  to  say,  each 
five  poimds  of  mineral  matter,  and  rather  less  than  one  pound 
of  nitrogen,  which  the  i)lant  takes  from  the  soil,  will  enable  it 
to  obtain  ninety-four  p)unds  of  other  substances  from  the  at- 
mosphere. To  grow  a  crop  of  twentj-  bushels  of  grain  and 
two  thousand  pounds  of  straw,  would  require  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  of  minerals,  and  about  thirty-two  pounds  of  nitro- 
gen ;  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  of  minerals,  one- 
half  would  be  silica,  of  which  the  soil  possesses  already  more 
than  enough  ;  the  remainder,  consisting  of  about  eighty  pounds 
of  potash  and  phosphate,  could  be  furnished  for  from  three 
to  four  dollars,  and  the  thirty-two  pounds  of  nitrogen  could 
be    purchased    in  nitrate  of    soda  for    six  or  eight    dollars. 


334  TALKS   OX    MANURES. 

The  actual  cost  of  tlic  ingredients,  therefore,  in  the  crop  ot 
twenty  buslielsitf  wlu-at,  would  be  about  ten  to  twelve  dollars. 
But  as  this  manure  would  furnish  the  injj^redients  for  the 
growth  of  both  straw  and  grain,  and  it  is  customary  to  return 
the  straw  to  the  laud,  after  tlie  tirst  crop,  fully  one-third  of  the 
cost  of  the  manure  might,  in  consequence,  be  deducted,  which 
would  niiike  the  ingredients  of  the  twenty  bushels  amount  to 
six  dollars.  Twenty  bushels  of  wheat  in  Kngland  would  sell 
for  twenty -eight  dollars  ;  therefore,  there  woukl  be  twenty-two 
dollars  left  for  the  cost  of  cultivatitm  and  profit. 

A  French  writer  on  scientific  agriculture  has  em])loyed 
figures  very  similar  to  the  above,  to  show  liow  Fiench  farmers 
may  grow  wlieat  at  less  liian  one  dollar  per  bushel.  At  this 
jirier  they  might  ct-rtaiidy  defy  the  comp<'tition  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  one  thing,  however,  to  grow  crops  in  a  lecture 
room,  and  (piite  another  to  grow  them  in  a  field.  In  ilealing 
with  artificial  .nanures,  furnishing  jihosphoric  acid,  i)ot;ush, 
and  nitrogen,  we  have  substances  which  act  upon  the  soil  in 
very  (lifTerents  ways.  Phosphatt^  of  lime  is  a  very  insoluble 
substance,  and  nnjuires  an  enormous  amount  of  water  to  dis- 
solve it.  Salts  of  potash,  on  the  other  hand,  are  very  8()lu])le  in 
water,  but  fi>rm  very  insoluble  com])ounds  with  the  soil.  Salts 
of  ammonia  ami  nitrate  of  soda  an-  perfectly  soluble  in  water. 
U  hen  applied  to  the  land,  the  ammonia  of  the  former  sulv 
stance  forms  an  insoluble  compound  with  the  soil,  but  in  avery 
short  time  is  converted  into  nitrate  of  lime  ;  and  with  this  sjxlt 
and  nitrate  of  soda,  remains  in  solution  in  the  soil  water  until 
they  are  either  taken  up  by  the  plant  or  are  washed  away  into 
the  drains  or  rivers. 

Crops  evaporate  a  very  large  amount  of  water,  and  with  this 
water  they  attract  the  soluble  nitrate  from  all  ])arts  of  the  soil. 
Very  favorable  sci-sons  are  therefore  those  in  which  the  soil  is 
n«'ither  too  dry  nor  too  wet;  as  in  one  case  the  solution  of 
nitrit)^  becomes  dried  up  in  the  soil,  in  the  other  it  is  either 
waslied  away,  or  the  soil  remains  so  wet  that  the  plant  cannot 
evaporate  the  water  sufKciently  to  draw  up  the  nitrates  which 
it  contains. 

The  amount  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  dissolved  in  the 
water  is  far  too  small  to  supi)ly  the  requirements  of  the  plant, 
and  it  is  probable  that  what  is  required  for  this  puqwse  is  dis- 
.^^olved  by  some  direct  action  of  the  roots  of  the  plant  on  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  'nsoluble  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  La 
the  soil. 


RESTOUIXO    FKHTILITY    TO    THE    SMIL.  3;}.") 

In  support  of  this  view,  I  may  mention  that  we  have  cleat 
evidenee  in  some  of  our  ex|x»riinents  of  the  wheat  crop  taking 
up  both  phospliati's  and  potash  that  were  applied  to  the  land 
thirty  years  a^o. 

To  suppose,  tlierefon-,  that,  if  the  ingredients  which  exist  in 
twenty  buslu'ls  of  wheat  and  its  straw,  are  simply  ajjplied  to  a 
tKirren  soil,  tiie  crop  will  he  ahle  to  c<tme  in  contact  with,  and 
take  up  these  substances,  is  to  assume  what  certaiidy  will  not 
take  place. 

I  have  often  expresse<l  an  opinion  that  aral)l(>  land,  could  not 
be  cultivated  protitably  by  means  of  jutilicial  nuumres,  unless 
the  soil  was  ca pal )le  of  producing,  from  its  own  n-sources,  a 
considerable  amount  of  produce:  still  the  (piestion  had  never 
up  to  this  time  come  before  me  in  a  distinct  form  as  one  \ipon 
which  I  ha«l  to  decide  one  way  or  tlie  other.  I  hatl.  however, 
no  hesitation  in  coming  to  the  conclusion,  that  grain  crops  could 
never  be  grown  at  a  profit  upon  my  relation's  land,  aii<l  that 
consecjuently,  for  .some  years,  it  would  b  ■  better  tt)  give  up  the 
attempt,  and  try  to  improve  the  pasture. 

After  what  I  have  said  alxnit  the  insolubility  of  potsish  ami 
phosphoric  acid,  it  nuvy  possibly  1h'  :isked — why  not  give  a  good 
dose  of  the.se  substances  at  once.  :is  they  do  not  w;i.sh  out  of 
the  soil — 3;iy  enough  to  grow  sixty  crops  of  grain,  and  apply 
the  nitrate,  or  ammonia  every  ye:tr  in  just  suHicient  amounts 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  crop? 

The  objections  to  this  i)lan  are  ;ls  follows:  assuming  the  most 
favorable  conditions  of  climate,  and  the  largest  jmssible  pro- 
duce, the  wheat  could  certainly  not  take  up  the  whole  of  the 
thirty-two  ix)unds  of  nitrogen  applied,  ami  the  crop  which  re- 
quires nearly  one  i>ound  of  nitrogen  in  everj'  one  hundred 
pounds  of  gross  produce,  would  i)e  certainly  less  than  tliree 
thousand  two  hundred  pounds,  if  supplied  with  onW  thirty-two 
pKJunds  of  nitrogen.  If  we  take  the  total  i>roduce  of  the  best 
and  W(^rst  wheat  crop,  gr<nvn  during  the  forty  j-ears  of  our  ex- 
periments, we  sh:dl  arrive  at  a  better  xuiderstanding  m  the 
matter.     The  following  are  the  figures  : 

Weigut  of  Dry  Produce  of  Wheat  Per  Acre. 

Siraii:  and  Grain. 

1863 9330  lbs. 

1879 - 3859     " 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  increa.se  due  to  the  nitrogen  of  the 
salts  of  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda,  we  must  deduct  from  the 


33G  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

crop  the  produce  obtained,  where  mineral  manures  without 
nitrogen  were  used.  In  1863  tliis  amount  was  three  thousand 
pounds,  and  in  1879  it  was  one  thousand  two  hu.idred  pounds. 
Deducting  these  amounts  from  the  gross  produce  in  each  case, 
leaves  si-c  thousand  throe  Imndred  and  thirty  as  the  produce 
due  to  the  nitrogen  in  the  season  of  1863,  and  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  as  the  produce  due  to  the  nitrogen  in 
1879. 

But  in  each  case  we  apphed  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen, 
eighty-seven  pounds  ;  and  as  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  a  wheat 
crop,  as  carted  from  the  field,  contains  less  tlianone  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen,  it  is  evident  that  if  all  that  was  contained  in  the 
manure  had  been  taken  up  by  the  plant,  tlie  increased  crop 
should  have  weighed  ei^ht  thousand  ssven  hundred  pounds  in- 
stead of  six  thousand  tliree  hundred  and  thirty.  Tlius  even  in 
our  best  year,  some  of  th  •  nitrogen  applied  failed  to  produce 
growth  ;  and  when  we  come  to  the  bad  year  we  find  that  only 
twenty-six  atid  a  half  pounds  were  taken  up  out  of  the  eighty- 
seven  pounds  applied,  thus  leaving  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  unaccounted  for. 

Seasons  are  only  occasiijnally  either  very  bad  or  very  good. 
What  we  call  an  average  season  does  not  ditfer  very  much  from 
the  mean  of  the  best  and  worst  years,  which  in  this  ca^e 
would  be  represented  b}'  a  crop  of  four  thousand  four  hundred 
and  ninety -four  pounds,  containing  nearly  forty-five  pounds  of 
nitrogen.  I  may  say  that,  altliough  I  liave  employed  one  per 
cent,  to  avoid  fractions  in  my  calculations,  strictly  speaking 
three-<piarters  of  a  per  cent,  would  more  nearly  represent  the 
real  quantity.  If,  however,  on  the  average,  we  only  obtain 
about  forty-five  pounds  from  an  application  of  about  eighty- 
seven  pounds  of  nitrogen,  it  is  evident  that  not  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  amount  applied  enters  into  the  crop. 

Now  in  dealing  with  a  substance  of  so  costly  a  nature  as  am- 
monia, or  nitrate  of  soda — the  nitrogen  contained  in  which 
substances  cannot  cost  much  less  than  twenty-five  cents  per 
pound  by  the  time  it  is  spread  upon  the  land,  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion of  importance  to  know  what  becomes  of  the  other  half, 
or  the  residue  whatever  it  may  be,  which  has  not  been  taken 
up  by  the  crop.  Part  is  undoubtedly  taken  up  by  the  weeds 
which  grow  with  the  wheat,  and  after  the  wheat  has  been 
cut.  Part  sinks  into  the  sub-soil  and  is  washed  completely 
away  during  the  winter. 

I,  myself,  am  disposed  to  tliiiik  that  the  very  great  difference 


RESTOKIN'(J    FERTILITY    TO   TIIK    SOIL.  337 

in  the  size  of  tlio  Indian  corn  crops,  as  compared  witli  the 
wheat  crops  in  the  States,  is  partly  accouutt'd  for  by  their 
greater  free  loiu  from  weeds,  which  are  large  consumers  of 
nitric  aci<l,  anil,  in  the  case  of  the  wheat  crop,  frequently  re- 
duce the  j'ield  by  several  bushels  per  acre.  It  must,  however, 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  tliough  the  wlieat  is  robbed  of  its  food 
where  there  are  weeds,  still  if  there  were  no  vceeds,  the  amount 
of  nitric  acid  which  the  crop  could  not  get  hold  of,  wouM,  in 
all  probabilty,  he  washed  out  of  the  soil  during  the  ensuing 
winter.  I  come  to  the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  the  nitro- 
gen alone,  which  would  be  retjuired  to  produce  one  bushel  of 
wheat,  would  cost  not  much  less  than  fifty  cents  ;  and  that,  in 
consequence,  wheat-growing  by  means  of  artificial  manures, 
will  not  pay  upon  very  poor  land. 

I  have  said  that  the  laud,  about  which  I  was  consulted,  had 
not  been  plowed  for  several  years,  and  that  alllujugh  nature 
hail  done  all  she  could  to  clothe  the  soil  with  vegetation,  the 
most  disheartening  feature  in  the  case  was,  the  poverty  of  the 
weeds.  A  thistle  may  be  a  giant  or  a  dwarf,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances ;  here  they  were  all  dwarfs.  The  pl-.dntain,  which 
I  believe  is  sometiiu's  sown  in  thesj  districts  for  food,  has  a 
very  deep  root :  here  the  plants  were  abundant,  but  the  leaves 
were  very  small  and  la}'  so  close  to  the  ground,  that,  as  the 
manager  informed  m  ',  '*  the  sheep  were  often  injured  from  the 
amount  of  sand  which  they  swallowed  with  the  leaves  when 
feeding." 

At  Rotharasted,  the  analyses  of  the  rain  water  passing 
through  the  ordinary  soil  of  one  of  my  fields,  which  has  been 
kept  free  from  vegetation,  have  shown  that  the  amount  of 
nitric  acid  liberated  in  a  soil,  and  washed  out  each  year,  is  very 
large.  Taking  the  ten  years  during  which  these  special  experi- 
ments have  been  in  progress,  I  should  think  that  the  loss  of 
nitrogen  would  be  equal  to,  or  possibly  exceed,  the  amount  of 
that  substance  removed  by  the  average  crops  grown  in  the 
United  States. 

The  results  obtained  by  the  rain  gauges,  are  further  com- 
pletely confirmed  by  those  in  an  adjoining  field,  where  wheat 
and  fallow  have  been  grown  alternately  for  twenty-seven  years. 
The  liberation  of  nitric  acid,  during  the  year  of  rest,  produced 
for  a  time  a  large  growth  of  wheat,  but  it  was  done  at  a  very 
great  waste  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  produce  is  now, 
in  proportion,  considerably  lower  thai  that  grovra  on  the  con- 
tinuously unmauured  laud. 

15 


338  TALKS   ON   MANURES. 

These  results,  if  they  are  to  be  accepted  as  correct,  must 
bring  about  a  very  considerable  change  in  the  generally  re- 
ceived views  in  regard  to  fertility.  We  not  only  see  more  clearly 
the  connection  between  a  former  vegetation  and  the  stored  up 
fertility  in  our  soil,  but  we  also  see  the  importance  of  vegeta- 
tion at  the  present  day,  as  the  only  moans  by  whicli  the  loss  of 
nitric  acid  is  prevented.  The  more  completely  the  laud  is  cov- 
ered with  vegetation,  and  tlie  mor^^^  growth  there  is,  the  greater 
will  be  the  evaporation  of  water,  and  the  less  will  be  the  loss  of 
nitric  acid  by  drainage. 

I  was  not  at  all  suri)rised  to  find,  that  the  surface  soil  of  a 
wood  on  my  farm,  was  poorer  in  nitrogen  than  the  soil  of  an 
old  permanent  pasture,  to  which  no  manure  had  been  applied 
for  twenty-five  yeare,  though  during  tlie  whole  period,  the  crop 
of  hay  had  been  rejioved  every  year  from  tlie  laud.  The  wood 
to  which  I  refer  is  covered  with  oak,  centuries  old,  and  the 
foliage  is  so  dens.'  that  but  little  underwood  or  other  vegetation 
can  grow  l)eneath  it.  If  both  the  wo(xl  and  the  pasture  were 
put  into  arable  cultivation.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  pasture 
would  i)n)ve  much  more  fertile  than  the  wood  land. 

In  our  experiments  on  [)ermanent  pasture,  it  has  been  ob- 
served that  the  character  of  the  lierbage  is  mainly  dependent  on 
the  food  supplied.  Weeds,  and  inferior  grasses,  can  hold  their 
own  as  long  as  poverty  exists,  but  with  a  Uberal  supply  of  ma- 
nure, the  superior  grasses  overgrow  and  drive  out  the  bad 
grasses  and  weeds.  In  consequence  of  the  low  price  of  wheat 
a  good  deal  of  land  in  England  has  baen  laid  down  to  perma- 
nent pasture,  and  much  money  has  been  spent  in  cleaning  the 
land  preparatory  to  sowing  tlie  grass-seeds.  ,1  have  on  more 
occasions  than  one.  suggested  that  the  money  employed  in  this 
process  would  be  better  expended  in  manure,  by  which  the 
weeds  would  be  "  improved  "'  off  the  face  of  the  land.  Wlii^e 
walking  over  the  abandoned  portion  of  these  estates  I  explained 
my  views  upon  this  point  to  the  manager.  They  were,  how- 
ever, received  with  the  usual  skepticism,  and  the  rejoinder  that 
"there  was  only  one  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  weeds,  which 
was  by  the  plow  and  fire." 

There  is  nothing  that  speaks  to  me  S(j  forcibly  as  color  in 
vegetation  ;  when  travelling  by  rail,  I  do  not  require  to  be  told 
that  such  a  farm  is,  or  is  not,  in  high  condition,  or  that  we  are 
passing  through  a  fertile  or  infertile  district.  There  is  a  i)eiu- 
liar  gretn  color  in  vegetation  which  is  an  unmistakable  sign 
that  it  is  living  upon  the  fat  of  the  land.      I  need  hardly  say 


RESTORING    FERTILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  339 

that,  in  this  case,  the  color  of  tlic  vt-gctation  gave  uTunistakable 
eigUK  of  the  poverty  of  the  soil  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  dingy 
yellowish-green  of  the  herbage,  I  came  ujion  one  square  of 
bright  green  grass.  In  answer  to  my  enquiry  I  was  told  that, 
a  "  lambing-fold  had  been  there  last  year,"  and  my  informant 
atlded  his  opinion,  "  that  the  manure  would  be  so  strong  tliat 
it  would  kill  anj-thing  !"  It  had  certainly  killed  the  weeds,  but 
in  their  place,  some  good  grasses  had  taken  possession  of  the 
Boil. 

The  plan  I  proposed  to  adopt  was,  to  spend  no  more  money 
on  tillage  operations,  but  to  endeavor  to  improve  the  pasture  by 
giving  to  it  the  food  necessary  to  grow  good  grasses,  sowing  at 
the  same  time  a  small  ([uantity  of  the  best  seeds.  I  further 
suggested  that  a  tlock  of  sheep  should  l»e  allowed  to  run  over 
the  whole  of  the  land  by  day.  and  be  folded  there  every  night 
— about  one  pound  of  cotton-seed  cake  per  head  being  allowed 
daily.  By  this  means,  as  tlie  fold  would  be  moved  every  day, 
the  amount  of  manure  deposited  on  the  soil  could  be 
estimated. 

If  there  were  a  hundred  sheep,  receiving  one  pound  of  de- 
corticated cotton- seed  cake  per  head,  tlaily,  and  tlie  hurdles 
were  arranged  to  enclose  a  space  of  twenty-five  bj'  twenty  yards, 
in  the  course  of  ten  days  an  acre  of  land  would  have  received 
manure  from  one  thousand  pounds  of  cake  ;  which  amount 
would  supply  seventy-seven  pounds  of  nitrogen,  sixty-eight 
pounds  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  thirty-two  pounds  of  potash. 
This  amount  of  cake  would  cost  about  sixteen  dollars. 

As  regards  the  value  of  the  cake  as  a  food,  it  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  form  an  estimate  ;  but  it  takes  nine  or 
ten  pounds  of  dry  food — say  roots,  cake,  and  hay — to  produce 
an  increa.se  of  one  pound  of  live  weight  in  sheep.  The  cake 
has  certainly  a  higher  fcv'ding  value,  than  either  hay  or  roots, 
1)ut  I  will  here  give  it  only  the  same  value,  and  consider  that 
one  hvmdred  and  ten  pounds  of  increase  of  the  animal  was  ob- 
tained by  the  consumption  of  the  one  thousand  pounds  of  cake. 
Tiic  value  of  the  increase  of  the  live  weight  would  be  in  Eng- 
land fully  eleven  dollars,  leaving  five  dollars  as  the  cost  of  the 
mv.nure.  Now  the  cake  furnished  seventy-seven  pounds  of 
nitrogen  alone,  which,  if  purchased  in  an  artificial  manure, 
would  have  cost  nineteen  dollars  ;  and  the  other  substances 
supplied  l)y  the  cake,  would  have  cost  from  four  to  five  dollars 
more.  The  manures  required,  therefore,  would  be  obtained 
much  more  cheaply  by  this  than  by  any  other  process. 


3i0  TALKS  ON   MANURES. 

Labor  would  bo  saved  by  not  cultivating  the  land.  Manure 
would  be  saved  by  substituting  vegetation  which  grows  under 
or  above  ground,  almost  all  the  year  round.  And,  by  feeding 
the  siock  with  cake,  the  necessary  fertility  would  be  obtained 
at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

It  is  probable  that  the  land  would  require  this  treatment  to 
be  rei^eated  for  several  >ears,  before  there  would  be  a  fair 
growth  of  gr  ss.  The  land  might  then  be  broken  up  and  one 
grain  crop  be  taken,  then  it  might  again  be  laid  down  to  grass. 

Hitherto,  I  have  considered  a  case  where  fertility  is  almost 
absent  from  the  land,  this,  however,  is  an  exception,  as  agri- 
culture generally  is  carried  on  upon  soils  which  contain  large 
stores  of  fertility,  though  they  may  be  very  unequally  distribu- 
ted. By  analysis  of  the  soil  we  can  measure  tlie  total  amount 
of  fertility  which  it  contains,  but  we  are  left  in  ignorance  in  re- 
gard to  the  amount  of  the  ingredients  whicli  are  in  such  a  form 
that  the  crops  we  cultivate  can  make  use  of  them. 

At  Rothamsted,  among  my  experiments  on  the  growth  of  con- 
tinuous wheat,  at  the  end  of  forty  years,  the  soil  supplied  with 
salts  of  ammonia  has  yielded,  during  the  whole  time,  and  still 
continues  to  yield,  a  larger  produce  than  is  obtained  by  a  liberal 
supply  of  phosphates  and  alkaline  salts  without  ammonia. 

When  we  consider  that  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  wheat 
crop,  as  carted  to  the  stack,  contains  about  five  per  cent,  of 
mineral  matter,  and  one  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  it  is  iijipossible 
to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  my  soil  has  a  large  available  bal- 
ance of  mineral  substances  which  the  crop  could  not  make  use 
of  for  want  of  nitrogen.  The  crop  which  has  received  these 
mineral  manures  now  amounts  to  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
bushels  per  acre,  and  removes  from  the  land  about  sixteen 
pounds  of  nitrogen  every  year. 

Analyses  of  the  soil  show  that,  even  after  the  removal  of 
more  than  thirty  crops  in  succession,  without  any  application 
of  manure  containing  ammonia,  the  soil  still  contains  some 
thousands  of  pounds  of  nitrogen.  This  nitrogen  is  in  combina- 
tion with  carbon  ;  it  is  very  insoluble  in  water,  and  until  it  be- 
comes separated  from  the  carbon,  and  enters  into  combination 
with  oxj^gen,  does  not  appear  to  be  of  any  use  to  the  crop. 

The  combination  of  nitrogen  with  oxygen,  is  known  as  ni- 
tric acid.  The  nitric  acid  enters  mto  combination  with  the 
lime  of  the  soil,  and  in  this  fonn  becomes  the  food  of  plants. 

From  its  great  importance  in  regard  to  the  growth  of  plants, 
nitric  acid  might  b-^  called  the  main  spring  of  agriculture,  but 


RESTORING   FERTILITY   TO   THE   SOIL.  341 

being  perfectly  soluble  in  water,  it  is  constantly  liable  to  be 
washed  out  of  the  soil.  In  the  experiment  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred above — where  wheat  is  grown  by  mineral  manures  alone 
— we  estimate  that,  of  the  amount  of  nitric  acid  liberated  each 
year,  not  much  more  than  one-half  is  taken  up  by  the  crop. 

The  wheat  is  ripe  in  Juh',  at  which  time  the  land  is  tolerably 
free  from  weeds ;  several  months,  therefore,  occur  during 
which  there  is  no  vegetation  to  take  up  the  nitric  acid;  and 
even  when  the  wheat  is  sown  at  the  end  of  October,  much  ni- 
tric acid  is  liable  to  be  washed  away,  as  the  power  of  the  plant 
to  take  up  food  from  the  soil  is  very  limited  until  the  spring. 

The  formation  of  nitric  acid,  from  the  organic  nitrogen  in  the 
soil,  is  due  to  the  action  of  a  miimte  plant,  and  goes  on  quite 
independent  of  the  growth  of  our  crops.  We  get,  however,  in 
the  fact  an  explanation  of  the  extremely  different  results  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  different  n:anures.  One  farmer  applies  lime, 
or  even  ground  limestone  to  a  soil,  and  obtains  an  increase  in 
his  crops  ;  proba])ly  he  has  supplied  the  verj'  substance  which 
has  enabled  the  nitrification  of  the  organic  nitrogen  to  increase; 
another  applies  potash,  a  third  phosphates ;  if  either  of  these 
are  absent,  the  crops  cannot  make  use  of  the  nitric  acid,  how- 
ever great  may  be  the  amount  diffused  through  the  soil. 

It  may  possibly  be  said  that  the  use  of  mineral  manures  tends 
to  exhaust  the  soil  of  its  nitrogen  ;  this  may,  or  may  not,  be 
true  ;  but  even  if  the  minerals  enable  the  crop  to  take  up  a 
larger  amount  of  the  nitric  acid  found  in  the  soil  year  by  year, 
this  does  not  increase  the  exhaustion,  as  the  minerals  only  tend 
to  arrest  that  which  otherwise  might  be  washed  away. 

We  must  look  upon  the  organic  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  as  the 
main  source  of  -the  nitrogen  which  grows  our  crops.  Whatever 
may  be  the  amount  derived  from  the  atmosphere,  whether  in 
rain,  or  dew  ;  or  from  condensation  by  the  soil,  or  plants,  it  is 
probable  that,  where  the  land  is  in  arable  cultivation,  the  ni- 
trogen so  obtained,  is  less  than  the  amount  washed  out  of  the 
soil  in  nitric  acid.  Upon  land  which  is  never  stirred  by  the 
plow,  there  is  much  less  waste  and  much  less  activity. 

The  large  increase  in  the  area  of  land  laid  down  to  perma- 
nent pasture  in  England,  is  not  due  alone  to  the  fall  in  the  price 
of  grain.  The  reduction  of  fertility  in  many  of  the  soils,  which 
have  been  long  under  the  plow,  is  beginning  to  be  apparent. 
Under  these  circumstances  a  less  exhausting  course  of  treat- 
ment becomes  necessary,  and  pasture,  with  the  production  of 
meat,  milk,  and  butter,  takes  the  place  of  grain  fields. 


APPENDIX. 


LETTER   FROM   EDWARD   JESSOP,  TOKK,  PA. 

York,  Pa.,  March  16,  1876. 
Joseph  Harris,  £k'j.,  Morcton  farm,  KiMhcster,  N.  Y.  : 

Dear  Sir — Your  favor  of  the  'J!d  of  last  month  came  safely  to  band, 
and  I  am  truly  obliged  to  you  for  the  reply  to  my  question. — You  ask, 
can  I  help  you  with  fact.'!  or  suggestions,  on  the  subject  of  manure  »  1 
fear  not  much  ;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  you  to  know  what  others  need 
to  know.  I  will  look  forward  to  the  advent  of  "Talks  on  Manures" 
with  much  interest,  hoping  to  get  new  light  on  a  subject  second  to  none 
in  im{)ortance  to  the  farmer. 

I  have  done  a  little  at  composting  for  some  years,  and  am  now  having 
a  jiile  of  about  forty  cords,  made  up  of  stable-manure  and  earth  taken 
from  the  wash  of  higher  lands,  turned  and  fined.  The  labor  of  digging 
and  hauling  the  earth,  composting  in  thin  layers  with  manure,  turning, 
and  (ining,  is  so  great,  I  doubt  whether  it  pays  for  most  farm  crops — 
this  to  be  used  for  mangel-wurzel  and  market-carden. 

The  usual  {)lan  in  this  county  is  to  k<cp  the  stable-manure  made  dur- 
ing winter,  and  the  accumulation  of  the  summer  in  the  barn-yard,  where 
it  is  soaked  by  rain,  and  trampled  fine  by  cattle,  and  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember is  hauled  upon  ground  to  be  seeded  with  wheat  and  grass-seeds. 
I  do  not  think  there  is  much  piling  and  turning  done. 

My  own  conclusions,  not  based  on  accurate  experiments,  however, 
arc,  that  the  best  manure  I  have  ever  applied  was  pre[)ared  in  a  covered 
pit  on  which  cattle  were  allowed  to  run,  and  so  kept  well  tramped — 
some  drainage  into  a  well,  secured  by  jiouring  water  upon  it,  when 
necessary,  and  the  drainajre  pumped  and  distrihutcd  over  the  surface,  at 
short  intervals,  i^articularly  the  parts  not  well  tramped,  and  allowed  to 
remain  until  it  became  a  homogeneous  mass,  which  it  will  do  without 
having  undergone  so  active  a  fermentation  as  to  have  thrown  off  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  gas. 

The  next  best,  composting  it  with  earth,  as  above  described,  piled 
about  five  or  six  feet  liich,  turned  as  often  as  convenient,  and  kept  moist 
enough  to  secure  fermentation. 

Or,  to  throw  all  the  manure  as  made  into  a  covered  i>it,  until  it  is 
thoroughly  mixed  and  made  fine,  by  allowing  hogs  to  run  upon  it  and 
root  at  will  ;  and  when  prepared  for  even  spreading,  apiily  it  as  a  top- 
dressing  on  grnss-land — at  any  convenient  time. 

As  to  how  many  loads  of  fresh  manure  it  takes  to  make  one  of  well- 
rotted  manure,  it  may  be  answered  approximately,  three  to  one,  but  that 
would  depend  a  good  deal  on  the  manner  of  doing  it,  and  the  amount 
of  rough  material  in  it.  If  well  trodden  by  cattle  under  cover,  and  suf- 
ficient drainage  poured  over  it,  to  prevent  anv  violent  fermentation,  the 


APPENDIX. 


343 


loss  of  Wfit;ht,  I  think,  woulil  not  l>e  very  sroat,  nor  the  Imlk  lessiMud 
ovtT  one-luilf. 

Many  years  a^'o  an  old  and  successful  farmer  said  to  me,  "  if  you  want 
to  fret  the  full  benetit  of  manure,  spread  it  as  a  lop-drcssiug  on  some 
grouimj  r/cyj,"  and  all  my  experience  and  observation  since  tend  to  con- 
firm the  correctness  of  his  advice. 

While  on  this  subject,  allow  me  to  protest  against  the  practice  of 
naming  the  (piantity  of  manure  applied  to  a  given  space,  as  so  many 
IkvIs,  as  altogether  too  indefinite.  The  bushel  or  cord  is  a  definite  quan- 
tity, which  all  can  understand 

The  average  i>rice  of  good  livery  stable  horse-manure  at  tiiis  place  haa 
been  for  several  years  four  dollars  a  cord. 

With  two  and  a  half  miles  to  haul,  I  am  trying  whether  keeping  a  flock 
of  50  breeding  ewes,  and  feeding  liberally  with  wheat  bran,  in  addition 
to  hay  and  pasture,  will  not  prtxiuce  the  needed  maimre  more  cheaply. 
Respect  fully  yours,  Euward  Jessop. 

P.  S. — You  ask  for  the  average  weight  of  a  cord  of  manure,  such  as  we 
pay  four  dollars  for. 

1  had  a  conl  of  horse-stable  manure  from  a  livery  stable  in  York  which 
had  been  all  the  time  under  cover,  with  several  pigs  ninning  upon  it, 
and  was  moist,  witiiout  any  excess  of  wet,  loaded  into  a  wagon-box 
holding  an  entir'^  cord,  or  I'i-^  cubic  feet,  tramped  by  the  wagoner  three 
times  while  loading. 

The  wagon  was  weighed  at  our  hay-scales  before  loading,  and  then  the 
wagou  and  load  together,  with  a  net  result  for  the  manure  of  4,400  lbs. 
I  considered  this  manure  rather  better  than  the  averatre.  I  had  aiiother 
load,  from  a  ditTerent  place,  which  weighed  over  5,000  lbs.,  but  on  ex- 
amination it  was  found  to  contain  a  good  deal  of  coal  ashes.  We  never 
buy  by  the  ton.  Harrison  Bros.  &  Co.,  Manufacturing  Chemists,  Phila- 
delphia, rate  barnyard-manure  as  worth  .$5.77  per  ton.  and  say  that  would 
be  about  $7.21  per  cord,  which  would  be  less  than  li  tons  to  the  cord. 
If  thrown  in  loosely,  and  it  happened  to  be  very  dry,  that  might  be  pos- 
sible. 

Waring,  in  his  "  Handy  Book  of  Ilusbaiidry,"  page  201,  says,  he  caused 
a  cord  of  well-trodden  livery  stable  manure  containing  the  usual  pro- 
portion of  straw,  to  be  carefully  weighed,  and  that  the  cord  weighed 
7,080  lbs. 

The  load  1  had  weighed,  weighing  4,400  lbs.,  was  considered  by  the 
wagoner  and  by  myself  as  a  fair  sample  of  good  manure.  In  view  of 
these  wide  differences,  further  trials  would  be  desirable.  Dana,  in  his 
"Muck  Manual,"  says  a  cord  of  green  cow-dung,  pure,  as  dropped, 
weighs  9,289  lbs. 

Farmers  here  seldom  draw  manure  with  less  than  three,  more  generally 
with  four  horses  or  mules  ;  loading  is  done  by  the  purchaser.  From  the 
barn-yard,  put  on  loose  boards,  from  40  to  60  bushels  are  about  an  aver- 
age load. 

In  hauling  from  town  to  a  distance  of  three  to  five  miles,  farmers  cren- 
erally  make  two  loads  of  a  cord  each,  a  day's  work.    From  the  barn-yard, 


344  TALKS    ON    MANUEHS. 

a  very  variable  number,  per  day.  In  niy  own  case,  two  men  with  three 
horses  have  been  haulinjj  six  and  seven  loads  of  sixty  bushels,  tine  com- 
post, a  distance  of  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  :i  mile,  up  a  long 
and  rather  steep  hUl,  and  spreading  from  the  wagon,  as  hauled,  upon 
grass-sod. 

Our  larger  farmers  often  have  one  driver  and  his  team,  two  wagons, 
one  loading,  while  the  other  is  drawn  to  the  tield  ;  the  driver  slips  off 
one  of  the  side-boards,  and  with  his  dung-hook  draws  off  piles  at  nearly 
equal  distances,  to  be  sprc:d  as  convenient.  Euwakd  jE&sor. 

LETTER   FUOM    DH.    E.    L.    STl  KTEVANT,    SOUTH   FRAMINGUAM,    MASS. 

South  Fuamixgham,  Mass.,  April  2,  187G. 
Friend  Harris — Manure  about  Boston  is  sold  in  various  ways.  First, 
according  to  the  number  of  animals  kept ;  price  varying  so  much,  that  I 
do  not  venture  to  name  the  figures.  By  the  cord,  to  be  trodden  over 
while  loading ;  never  by  weight,  so  far  as  I  can  learn — price  from  0  to 
?12.00  per  cord,  according  to  season,  and  various  accidental  circum- 
6tances.  During  the  jiast  winter,  manure  has  been  given  away  in  Boston. 
Uandlinir.  hauling  to  the  railroad,  and  freight  costing  ?4  per  cord  for 
carrying  ',iO  miles  out.  Market-gardeners  usually  haul  manure  as  a  re- 
turn freight  on  their  journeys  to  and  from  market.  About  South  Fra- 
mingham,  price  stifT  at  $S  a  cord  in  the  cellar,  and  this  may  be  considered 
the  ruling  suburban  price.    Very  friendly  yours, 

E.  Lewis  Stubtevant. 

LETTER   FROM   M.    C.    WELD. 

New  York,  Nov.  9,  ISTG. 
Mt  De.^r  TTarrts — I  don't  know  what  I  can  write  about  manures, 
that  would  be  of  use.  I  have  strong  faith  in  humus,  in  ashes,  leached 
and  unlcachcd,  in  lime,  gas-lime,  plaster,  bones,  ammonia  ready  formed, 
nitrates  ready  formed,  not  much  in  meat  and  blood,  unless  they  are 
cheap.  Nevertheless,  they  often  are  cheap,  and  produce  splendid  effects. 
I  believe  in  sulphuric  acid,  with  organic  nitrogenous  manures  ;  the  com- 
posting of  meat,  blood,  hair,  etc.,  with  peat  and  muck,  and  wetting  it 
down  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  I  believe  in  green-manuring,  heartily, 
and  in  tillage,  tillage,  tillage.  Little  faith  in  superphosphates  and  com- 
pounded manures,  at  selling  prices.  Tlabirshaw's  guano  is  good  enough. 
So  much  for  my  creed.    Truly  yours,  M.  C.  Weld. 

LETTER   FROM   PETER  HENDERSON. 

New  York,  Oct.  26,  1876. 
Jllr.  Josejyh  ITarrix: 

Dear  Sir— If  you  will  refer  to  my  work  "  Gardening  for  Profit,"  New 
Edition,  page  34,  you  will  get  about  all  the  information  1  possess  on 
Manures,  except  that  I  do  not  say  anything  about  price.  In  a  general 
way  it  might  be  safe  to  advis'^  that  whenever  a  (on  (it  is  always  best  to 
speak  of  manures  by  weight)  of  either  cow,  horse,  hog,  or  other  stable- 
manure  can  be  laid  on  the  ground  for  $3,  it  is  ehea])erthan  commercial 
fertilizers  of  any  kind  at  their  usual  market  rates.     This  :?3  per  ton,  I 


I 


APPENDIX.  345 

think,  would  be  about  tbo  avcnigc  cost  in  Now  York,  Hostoii,  or  IMiila- 
ddpliia.  We  uevor  haul  it  on  the  grouiul  until  we  are  readj  to  plow  it 
in.  If  it  has  to  be  taken  from  the  hog  or  cattle  yards,  we  draw  it  out  into 
larije  heaps,  convenient  to  where  it  is  to  be  put  on  the  land,  turnine:  it, 
to  keep  it  from  burning  or  "  lirc-fan;jinir,"  if  necessary.  None  of  our 
farmers  or  market  gardeners  here  keep  it  under  cover.  The  expense  of 
such  covering  and  the  greater  ditliculties  in  getting  at  it,  for  the  immense 
quantities  we  use,  would  be  greater  than  the  benelits  to  be  derived  from 
keeping  it  under  cover— benefits,  in  fact,  which,  I  think,  may  be  greatly 
overrated.     Very  truly  yours,  Peter  Hendekson. 

LETTER     FROM    J.    M.    B.    A?fnER30N,    ED.    "CANADA    FARMER,"    TORONTO. 

"  Canada  Farmer  "  Office,  Toronto,  March  21),  1876. 
J.  Jfiirris,  Esq.  : 

Dear  Sir — Tours  of  the  2.".tli  tnst.  is  to  hand,  and  I  shall  be  most 
happy  to  render  you  any  assistance  in  my  power.  The  work  you  under- 
take is  in  aide  hands,  and  I  have  every  conlidence  that,  when  completed, 
it  will  form  an  invaluable  acqui.-ilion  to  the  agricultural  literature  of  the 
day. 

Manuro  in  this  city  is  usually  sold  by  the  two-horse  load — about  H 
tons — at  the  rate  of  .?l  per  load,  or  GO  cents  per  ton.  The  load  contains 
just  :i bout  a  cord  of  manure,  consrquenlly  a  cord  will  weigh  about  li  tons. 

With  rcferc!)ce  t<>  the  general  management  of  manure  in  Canada,  I  may 
eay  that  the  system  followed  diders  in  no  material  respect  from  that  of 
New  York  and  the  other  Eastern  States.  It  is  usually  kept  over  winter 
in  the  open  bam  yard  (rarely  under  cover,  I  am  sorry  to  say),  laid  out  on 
the  land  about  the  time  of  disai>pearancc  of  last  snow,  and  plowed  in. 
In  some  cases  it  is  not  carted  out  until  the  land  is  ready  fur  immediate 
plowing.  With  some  of  our  more  advanced  farmers,  the  system  has 
lately  been  adopted  of  keeping  manure  under  cover  and  sprinkling  it 
thorouchly  at  intervals  with  plaster  and  other  substances.  Tanks  arc 
also  becoming  more  common  than  formerly,  for  the  preservation  of  liq- 
uid manure,  which  is  usually  applied  by  means  of  large,  perforated  hogs- 
heads, after  the  manner  of  street-watering. 

Tou  ask.  how  the  manure  is  managed  at  Bow  Park,  Brantford.  That 
made  during  fall  and  winter  is  carefulh-  kejl  in  as  small  bulk  as  possible, 
to  prevent  cxi>osure  to  the  weather.  In  February  and  March  it  is  drawn 
out  and  put  in  heaps  8  feet  square,  and  well  packed,  to  prevent  the  es- 
scajie  of  ammonia.  In  spring,  as  soon  as  practical)le,  it  is  spread,  and 
jilowed  under  immediately.  Manure  made  in  spring  and  summer  is 
spread  on  the  field  at  once,  and  plowed  under  with  a  good,  deep  furrow 

Very  truly  yours,  J.  M.  B.  Anderson,  Ed.  Canada  Fartiier. 

MANURE  STATISTICS  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

THE   MANrRE   TRADE    OF   LONG     ISLAND— LETTER    FROM    3.  H.  RUSHMORE. 

Old  Westblrt,  Long  Island,  April  6,  1876. 
Joaeph  Harris,  Exq.  : 

Dear  Sir — The  great  number  of  dealers  in  manure  in  New  York  pre- 


346 


TALKS    ON   MANURES. 


eludes  accuracy,  yet  Mr.  Skiilmore  (who  has  been  testifyiug  volumi- 
nously before  the  New  York  Board  of  Health  in  relation  to  manure  and 
street  dirt),  assures  me  that  the  accompanyinj^  figures  are  nearly  correct. 
I  enclose  statement,  from  two  roads,  taken  from  their  books,  and  the 
amount  shipped  over  the  other  road  1  obtained  verbally  from  the  General 
Freight  Agent,  and  embody  it  in  the  sheet  of  statistics. 

The  Ash  report  I  ktiow  is  correct,  as  I  had  access  to  the  books  showing 
the  business,  for  over  ten  years.  I  have  made  numerous  applications, 
verbally,  and  by  letter,  to  our  largest  market  gardeners,  but  there  seems 
to  exist  a  general  and  strong  disinclination  to  communicate  anything 
worth  knowing.  I  enclose  the  best  of  the  replies  received.  Speaking 
for  some  of  our  largest  gardeners,  I  may  say  that  they  cultivate  over  one 
hundred  acres,  and  use  land  sufficiently  near  to  the  city  to  enable  them 
to  dispense  with  railroad  transportation  in  bringing  manure  to  their 
jilai^es  and  marketing  crops.  I  have  noticed  that  one  of  the  shrewdest 
gardeners  invarial)ly  composts  horn-shavings  and  bone-meal  with  horse- 
manure  several  months  before  expecting  to  use  it.  A  safe  average  of 
manure  used  jter  acre  by  gardeners,  may  be  stated  at  ninety  (90)  tubs, 
and  from  two  humlrcd  to  twenty  hundred  pounds  of  fertilizer  in  addi- 
tion, according  to  its  strength,  and  the  kind  of  cnjp. 

The  following  railroad  manure  statistics  will  give  a  generdly  correct 
idea  of  the  age  of  manure,  when  used : 

STATB.VIENT   OF  MANURE  SENT  FROM  JAN.    1   TO  DEC.   31,    1875. 

Ora-  F.  X.  .S'.  <f-  C.  li.  li.     Orer  Southern  li.  R. 

January 1,531  tubs.  5,815  tubs. 

February 4,:i57     " 

March 740      "  12,217     " 

April 12,122      "  7,055     " 

May 7,:»3      "  :^,049     " 

June 5,725      "  l,::i05     " 

July (),47:U    "  (585     " 

August 0,3701    "  2,911     " 

September 3,197      "  14,702     " 

October    S80      "  060     " 

November 512      "  .VIO     " 

December J,406    ^^  4,023     " 

40,340  tubs.  57,679  tubs. 

A  tub  is  equal  to  14  bushels. 

Hobson,  Hurtado  ^  Co.  report  the  amount  of  Peruvian  guano  sold  in 
this  country  last  year  at  thirt}'  thousand  tons. 

Estimated  numi)er  of  horses  in  New  York  city,  100,000. 

Estimated  product  of  manure  per  horse.     Four  cords. 

Estimated  proportion  of  straw  to  pure  excrement.     One-halt 

Amount  shipped  direct  from  stables.     Nearly  all. 

AmovNit  shipped  on  vessels.     One-half. 

Length  of  time  the  unshipped  manure  remains  in  heaps.  From  three 
to  four  months. 

Average  cost  per  horse,  annually.     S3. 

Greatest  distance  of  shipment.    Virginia- 


APPENDIX.  347 

Average  amount  shipited  via  L.  I.  K.  11.     tiO.OOO  tubs. 
Price  of  manure  per  tub  delivered  on  cars  or  vessel.     80  cents. 
Average  amount  i>ut  on  car.     40  tubs. 

Statistics  of  Ash  Trade. — Time  wlien  aslica  are  delivered.  From 
middle  of  June  to  middle  of  October. 

Places  from  which  they  are  mostly  shipped.  Montreal,  Belleville,  aud 
Toronto  (Canada). 

Method  of  transportation.     Canal  boats. 
Average  load  \^er  boat.     About  .S,0<)0  bushels. 
Average  amount  annually  sold.     36(),000  bushels. 
Average  cost  delivered  to  farmers.     201  cents  per  bushel. 

JV/'  Acre,  about. 

Amount  used  iiy  farmers  for  potatoes 00  tuba. 

"            "      "        "         "    cabbage  (late). ...  50    " 
"  "     <'        "         "    corn I'i    " 

Amount  of  guano  used  on  Long  Island,  as  rcf  resented  by  the  hooki 
of  Chapman  &  Vauwyck,  and  their  estimate  of  sales  by  other  firms, 
5,000  tons. 

The  fertilizers  used  on  the  Island  are  housht  almost  exclusively  by 
market  gardeners  or  farmers,  who  do  a  little  market  gardening,  as  it  is 
the  general  conviction  that  ordinary  farm-crops  will  not  give  a  compen- 
sating return  for  their  applieatiun.  Most  market  gardeners  keep  so 
little  stock  that  tlie  manure  made  on  the  place  is  very  inconsiderable. 
Our  dairy  farmers  either  compost  home-made  manures  with  that  from 
the  city,  spread  it  on  the  land  for  corn  in  the  spring,  or  rot  it  separate, 
to  use  in  the  fall  for  wlieat,  on  land  that  has  been  cropped  with  oats  the 
same  year.  The  manure  put  on  for  potatoes  is  generally  estimated  to 
enrich  the  land  sufficient  for  it  to  produce  one  crop  of  winter  grain,  and 
from  five  to  seven  crojis  of  grass,  when  it  is  again  plowed  and  cultivated 
in  rotation  witli,  first,  corn,  second,  potatoes  or  oats,  and  is  rcseeded  in 
autunm  of  the  same  year. 

Fish  and  fish  guano  are  laruely  used  on  land  bordering  the  water,  and 
adjacent  to  the  oil-works.  The  average  price  for  guano  in  bulk  at  oil- 
works  is  $\'2  per  ton.  The  average  price  for  fish  en  wharf  i.s  .^1..50  per 
thousand,  and  it  is  estimated  that,  as  a  general  average,  6,000  fish  make 
a  ton  of  guano.  The  fish,  when  applied  to  corn,  are  placed  two  at  each 
hill,  and  plowed  under  at  any  time  after  the  corn  is  large  enough  to  cul- 
tivate. Seaweed  is  highly  prized  by  all  who  use  it,  and  it  will  produce 
a  good  crop  of  com  when  spread  thickly  on  the  land  previous  to  plowing. 

Very  respectfully,  J.  II.  Rusiimore. 

LETTER  FROM   JOHN  E.   BACKUS. 

Newtown,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  March  2nd,  1876. 

Jdr.   6.  IT.  liusTimore : 

Dear  Sir. — Some  farmers  and  market-gardeners  use  more,  and  some 
less,  manure,  according  to  crops  to  be  raised.  I  use  about  30  good  two- 
horse  wagon-loai.s  to  the  acre,  to  be  applied  in  rows  or  broad-casted,  as 
best  for  certain  crops.    I  prefer  old  horse-dung  for  most  all  purposes. 


348  TALKS    ON   MANURS8. 

Guano,  as  a  fertilizer,  phosphate  of  bone  and  blood  arc  very  good;  they 
act  as  a  stimulant  on  plants  and  vegetation,  and  are  highly  beneficial  to 
some  vegetation— more  valuable  on  poor  soil  than  elsewhere,  except  to 
produce  a  thrifty  growth  in  plants,  and  to  insure  a  large  crop. 

By  giving  you  these  few  items  they  vary  considerably  on  different 
parts  of  the  Island  ;  judgment  must  be  used  in  all  cases  and  all  busi- 
ness. Hoping  these  few  lines  may  be  of  some  avail  to  Mr.  Harris  and 
yourself,  I  remain,  yours,  etc.,  John  E.  Backus. 

MANURE  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

LETTEK   FROM   JOSEPH  HEACOCK. 

Jenkintown,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.,  April  18th,  1876. 

My  Dear  Friend  Harris. — Stable-manure  in  Philadelphia,  costs  by 
the  single  four-horsc-load,  about  §9  or  $10.  Mostly,  the  farmers  who 
haul  much  of  it,  have  it  engaged  b)'  the  year,  and  then  it  can  be  had  for 
from  §7  to  $8  per  load.  Mostly,  four  horses  are  used,  though  we  fre- 
quently see  two  aTid  three-horse  teams,  aud  occasionally,  five  or  six 
horses  are  used.  I  have  never  seen  any  kind  of  dung  hauled  but  that  of 
horses.  Cow-manure  would  be  thought  too  heavy  to  haul  so  long  a  dis- 
tance. Sugar-house  waste,  spent  hops,  glue  waste,  etc,  are  hauled  to  a 
email  extent.  We  live  about  9  miles  from  the  center  of  the  city,  and  the 
road  is  very  hilly,  though  otherwise  a  good  one,  being  made  of  stone. 

The  loads  vary  from  2i  to  3i  or  4  tons  for  four  horses,  according  to 
the  dryness  of  the  manure.  The  wagons  are  made  very  strong,  and  weigh 
from  1,600  lbs.  to  2,800  or  2,400  lbs.,  according  to  the  number  of  horses 
that  are  to  be  used  to  them.  I  cannot  say  how  many  cords  there  are  in 
an  average  load,  but  probably  not  less  than  two  cords  to  four  horses. 
One  of  my  neighbors  has  a  stable  engaged  by  the  year.  He  pays  $2.50 
per  ton,  and  averages  about  three  tons  per  load,  and  the  distance  from 
the  stable  in  the  city  to  his  place,  can  not  be  less  than  12  miles.  His 
team  goes  empty  one  way  and  of  course  can  not  haul  more  than  a  load 
a  day.  In  fact,  can  not  average  that,  as  it  would  be  too  hard  on  his 
horses.  The  horses  used  for  the  purpose  are  large  and  strong.  Fifteen 
or  twenty  years  ago,  there  was  kept  on  most  farms  of  75  to  100  acres,  a 
team  purposely  for  hauling  manure  from  the  city.  But  it  is  ditferent 
now,  many  of  the  farmers  using  artificial  manures,  as  it  costs  so  much 
less ;  and  others  are  keeping  more  stock,  and  so  making  their  own 
manure.  Still,  there  is  a  great  deal  hauled  yet.  And  some  of  it  to  a 
distance  of  20  miles.  Though  when  hauled  to  this  distance,  the  teams 
are  loaded  both  ways.  For  instance,  they  will  start  to  the  city  with  a 
load  of  hay  (35  to  50  cwt.),  on  Monday  afternoon  (Tuesday  is  the  day  of 
the  Hay  Market) ;  and  when  tliey  have  their  load  of  hay  off  on  Tuesday, 
they  load  their  manure  and  drive  out  five  or  six  miles  and  put  up  for  the 
niglit.  Next  morning  they  start  about  3  o'clock,  arriving  home  before 
noon,  having  been  away  two  days.  On  Thursday  afternoon,  they  start 
again.  You  can  see  that  manuring  in  this  way  is  very  expensive.  But 
farmers  about  here  well  know  that  if  they  do  not  manure  well  they  raise 


APPENDIX.  340 

but  little.  Probably  about  four  loads  are  used  per  acre  on  the  average. 
Each  load  is  generally  thrown  off  the  wagon  in  one  large  heap  near 
where  wanted,  and  is  allowed  to  lie  until  they  use  it.  I  can  not  tell 
how  much  it  loses  in  bulk  by  lying  in  the  heap. 

As  to  what  crops  it  is  used  on,  farmers  do  not  think  that  they  could 
go  amiss  in  applying  it  to  anything  except  oats.  But  it  is  probably  used 
more  for  top-dressing  mowing  land,  and  for  potatoes,  than  for  any- 
thing else. 

The  usual  rotation  is  corn,  potatoes,  or  oats,  wheat  seeded  to  clover 
and  timothy,  and  then  kept  in  grass  from  two  to  four  years.  Those  who 
haul  stable-manure,  usually  use  bone-dust  or  superphosphate  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent. 

Last  December  I  built  a  pig-pen,  20  ft.  x40  ft.,  li  stories  high.  The 
upper  story  to  be  used  for  litter,  etc.  There  is  a  four  feet  entry  on  the 
north  side,  running  the  length  of  the  building.  The  remainder  is  divided 
into  five  pens,  each  8  ft.  x  16  ft.  It  is  made  so  that  in  cold  weather  it  can 
be  closed  up  tight,  while  in  warmer  weather  it  can  be  made  as  open  as 
an  out-shed.  I  am  very  much  pleased  with  it.  The  pigs  make  a  great 
deal  of  manure,  and  I  believe  that  it  can  be  made  much  cheaper  than 
it  can  be  bought  and  hauled  from  Philadelphia. 

Joseph  Heacock,  Jr. 

letter  from  herman  l.  routzahn. 

MiDDLETOWN,  Md.,  May  11th,  1876. 
Joseph  Harris,  Esq.  : 

I  herewith  proceed  to  answer  questions  asked. 

Wheat  and  corn  are  principal  crops.  Corn  is  fed  now  altogether  to 
stock  for  the  manure. 

There  is  but  little  soiling  done.  The  principal  method  of  making 
manure  is :  Feeding  all  the  com  raised,  as  well  as  hay,  oats,  and  roots, 
to  cattle ;  using  wheat  straw,  weeds,  etc.,  as  bedding,  throwing  the 
manure  in  the  yard  (uncovered),  and  to  cover  the  pile  with  plaster  (by 
sowing  broadcast),  at  least  once  a  week.  To  this  pile  is  added  the 
manure  from  the  hog-pens,  hen-house,  etc.,  and  worked  over  thoroughly 
at  least  twice  before  using.  It  is  then  applied  to  com  by  plowing 
under;  to  wheat,  as  a  top-dressing.  For  corn  it  is  usually  hauled  to  the 
field,  thrown  off  in  heaps  25  feet  each  way,  a  cart-load  making  two  heaps. 
Spread  just  before  the  plow.  For  wheat,  spread  on  directly  after  plow- 
ing, and  thoroughly  harrowed  in.  Applied  broadcast  for  potatoes.  Com- 
posts of  different  kinds  are  made  and  used  same  as  in  other  localities,  1 
presume.  Artificial  manures  are  going  into  disrepute  (justly  too).  This 
is  the  plan  now  adopted  by  the  farmers  in  this  county  (Frederick). 
Where  woods  are  accessible,  leaves  and  mould  are  hauled  in  and  added  to 
the  manure-heap  ;  in  fact,  every  substance  that  can  be  worked  into  the 
manure-heap  is  freely  used.  Well-rotted  stable-manure  is  worth  from 
$1.50  to  $2.50  per  cord,  according  to  condition  and  locality. 
Very  Respectfully  Yours, 

Herman  L.  Routzahn. 


3o0  TALKS    OX    MANURES. 

fcETTEK    FROM    PROF.    E.     M.     SHELTOS,    PUOF.    OF    AGRlCrLTl'KE,  KANSAS 

state  aqrici  i.tiral  college. 

Kansas  State  Agricultural  College, 

Manhattan,  Kansas,  May  5,  1876. 

Dear  Sir. — In  reply  to  your  first  question,  I  would  SLy  that  stable- 
manure  in  this  vicinity,  is  held  in  very  lij^lit  estimation.  Indeed,  by  the 
householders  of  this  city,  and  quite  generally  by  the  farmers,  manure  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  those  things — like  drouth  and  grasshoppers — with  which 
a  mysterious  Providence  sees  fit  to  clog  the  operations  of  the  husband- 
man. Tlie  great  bulk  of  the  stable-manure  made  in  this  city  is,  every 
spring,  carted  into  ravines  and  vacant  lots— wherever,  in  short,  with 
least  expense  it  can  be  put  out  of  reach  of  the  senses. 

It  must  not  be  understood  by  this  that  niaimre  has  little  influence  on 
the  growing  croi)s  in  Kansas.  Nowhere  have  I  seen  such  excellent 
results  from  application  of  home-made  fertilizers,  as  in  Kansas.  For 
those  sterile  wastes  known  as  "Alkali  lands,"  and  "Buffalo  wallows," 
manure  is  a  speedy  and  certain  cure.  During  two  years  of  severe  drouth, 
I  have  noticed  that  wherever  manure  had  been  supplied,  the  crop  with- 
stood the  effects  of  dry  weather  much  better  than  where  no  application 
had  been  made.  Four  years  ago,  a  strip  across  one  of  our  fields  was 
heavily  manured  ;  this  year  this  field  is  into  wheat,  and  a  dark  band  that 
may  be  seen  half  a  mile  shows  where  this  application  was  made. 

These  facts  the  better  class  of  our  farmers  are  beginning  to  appreciate. 
A  few  days  ago,  a  neighbor,  a  very  intelligent  farmer,  assured  me  that 
from  manuring  eight  to  ten  acres  every  year,  his  farm  was  now  in  better 
condition  than  when  be  broke  up  the  prairie  fifteen  years  ago. 

T  know  of  no  analysis  of  stable  or  farmyard -manure  made  in 
Kansas.  Concerning  the  m-if/fit  of  manures,  I  can  give  you  a  few  facts, 
having  had  occasion  during  the  past  winter  to  weigh  several  loads  used 
for  experimental  purposes.  This  manure  was  wheeled  into  the  barnyard, 
chiefly  from  the  cattle  stalls,  during  the  winter  of  1874-.").  It  lay  in  the 
open  yard  until  February  last,  when  it  was  weighed  and  hauled  to  the 
fields.  I  found  that  a  wagon-box,  11x3x9  feet,  into  which  the  manure 
was  pitched,  without  treading,  held  with  slight  variations,  when  level 
full,  one  ton.     At  this  rate  a  cord  would  weigh  very  close  to  three  tons. 

The  greatest  difficulty  that  we  have  to  encounter  in  the  management 
of  manure  grows  out  of  our  dry  summers.  During  our  summer  months, 
unless  sufficient  moisture  is  obtained,  the  manure  dries  out  rapidly,  be- 
comes fire-fanged  and  practically  worthless.  My  practice  ujion  the  Col- 
lege farm  has  been  to  give  the  bottom  of  the  barn-yard  a  "  di.shing  " 
form,  so  that  it  holds  all  the  water  that  falls  upon  it.  Tlifc  manure  I 
keep  as  flat  as  possible,  taking  pains  to  place  it  where  the  animals  will 
keep  it  trod  down  solid.  I  have  adopted  this  plan  after  having  tried 
composting  and  piling  the  manure  in  the  yards,  and  am  satisfied  that  it 
Is  the  only  practical  way  to  manage  manures  in  this  climate. 

There  is  no   particular  crop  to  which  manure   is  generally  applied 


APPENDIX.  "  351 

in  this  State,  unless,  perhaps,  wheat.    The  prattiee  of  applying  mauure  as 
a  top-dressin;^  to  winter-wheat,  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  here.     It  is 
found  that  the  manure  thus  applied,  aeliiig  us  a  muleh,  mitigates  the 
effects  of  drouth,  besides  improving  the  quality  of  the  grain. 
Very  Respeetfully  Yours, 

E.  M.  Shelton. 

letter  fkom  prof.  w.  h.  bkeweh,  professor  of  agriculture  in 
sheffield  scientific  school  of  yale  college. 

Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale  College, 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  April  14th,  1876. 
Joseph  Han-is,  Esq. ,  Itochester,  N.  Y.  : 

My  Dear  Sir.— I  have  made  inquiries  relating  to  "  the  price  of  stable- 
manure  in  New  Haven,  and  how  far  the  farmers  and  gardeners  haul  it, 
etc."  I  have  not  been  to  the  horse-car  stables,  but  I  have  to  several 
livery  stables,  and  they  are  all  essentially  the  same. 

They  say  that  but  little  is  sold  by  the  cord  or  km,  or  by  any  weight  or 
measure.  It  is  sold  either  "  in  the  lump,"  "  by  the  month,"  "by  the 
year,"  or  "  per  horse."  Some  sell  it  at  a  given  sum  per  month  for  all 
their  horses,  on  a  general  estimate  of  their  horses — thus,  one  man  says, 
"I  get,  this  year,  $25  per  month  for  all  my  manure,  he  to  remove  it  as 
fast  as  it  accumulates  ;  say  one,  two,  or  three  times  per  week.  He  hauls 
it  about  five  miles  and  composts  it  all  before  using." 

Another  siiys,  he  sells  per  horse.  "  I  get,  this  year,  $13  per  horse, 
they  to  haid  it."  The  price  per  horse  ranges  from  $10  to  $15  per 
year,  the  latter  sum  being  high. 

From  the  small  or  private  stables,  the  manure  is  generally  "  lumped  " 
by  private  contract,  and  is  largely  used  about  the  city.  It  is  hauled 
sometimes  as  much  as  10  miles,  but  usually  much  less. 

But  the  larger  stables  often  sell  per  shipment— it  is  sent  by  cars 
•up  the  Connecticut  Valley  to  Westfield,  etc.,  where  it  is  often  hauled 
several  miles  from  the  railroad  or  river. 

Much  manu.e  is  sent  by  boat  from  New  York  to  the  Connecticut 
Valley  tobacco  lands.  Boats  ("  barL'-es  ")  are  even  loaded  in  Albany,  go 
down  the  Hudson,  up  the  Sound  to  Connecticut,  to  various  places  near 
Hartford,  I  am  told.  Two  or  three  years  ago,  a  man  came  here  and 
exhibited  to  us  pressed  masses  of  manure — a  patent  had  been  taken  out 
for  pressins  it,  to  send  by  R.  R.  (stable  manure).  I  never  heard  anything 
more  about  it — and  he  was  confident  and  enthusiastic  about  it. 

Yours  truly,  Wm.  H.  Bkeweb. 


;j.r^ 


TAUS.S    ON    MANURES. 


FOOD,  INCREASE,   MANURE,  ETC.,  OF  FATTENING  ANIMALa 

Tlif  followini;  table  is  ijiven  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Lawt-s,  of  Ruthainsted,  Enj^- 
laixl,  showing,'  the  relation  of  the  increase,  manure,  and  loss  by  respira- 
tion, to  the  food  consumed  by  diflcrcnt  animals : 


asoa*.  Oii-i-aJte] 
600    "  Clurtr- 

3500 /&».  SwrtU 
tumi/it  and 
gupjdy. 

1 

Product, 
IW)  lbs. 
Incrtate. 

100  Total  Dry  fhib-         5. 5 

*taitrf  qf  tuod       '  "§  =  5 

$upiily.                  S-5| 

a 

5l"  5 

■•5 
-  S3.   , 

In  In 
create. 

In  .Ma- 
nure. 

In  Res- 

pirutloa 

etc. 

lis 

Nitroccnous  Hubxtancn. 
Noil  .Siin>geiii>uH     Hiib- 

Rtance  

MiD'-ral  Matter 

lbs. 

318 

808 
83 

lbs.      lbs.  ,   lbs.  ll           1                     1 
9.0)                       I  1    0.8    '                        1 
\   .IS-l.O    636-{             V    ».l    57  8- 

58. oi               /;  ss  1        1 

1.6        81  4         -     1    O.a     1     7.4  1   ... 

4.1 

7.8 
1.9 

Total  dry  ouhxtancc 

1109 

68.6      404 

.4     686    1 

6.S    1  86.5  I57.3    1 

8HBXF. 


SBO  lb*.  Oa-cakt- 

^rhafr  ''^'^"       r^'"^- 


tiirtJim  and 
mipiJy. 


8    '8« 


I  lbs. 

Nitri'ijenoiiB  oubt<tancc.l  177 
Nod  Nitrogenous     Bub-| 

stance 6T1 

Mineral  m.ntter M 

Total  dry  eabstance 912 


lbs.  j   lbs.        lbs. 
7.51  i         ('  t 

V    22C»-      MS..',-( 
3.0)  / 


63 
2  0 
7S.5 


OS 
21)1 


548.6 


100  Total  Dn/  Sub- 

»(ance  of  h'ood 

fiipply. 


•      .        i  9 

a«     at" 


0.8  j 

7.0  I 

0.3 

8.0 


as.i  CO 


6.8 
31.9 


■'] 


GO.l 


1^1 

lis 


4.3 


9.4 
3.1 


Nitrojrenons  enhstance. 
Non  -  Nitrogenous  sub- 

stJince 

Minenil  matter 

Totnl  dry  substance 


500  lb.'.  liarl'y  menl  jiroduce 
100^°.  iiimane.  and  fiipplij. 


•  S 


I    1    -Hs 

a  r« 


lbs. 
52 

a-)7 
11 

420 


lbs.      lbs.  lbs. 

7.01           (  (  1.7) 

J-  59.8-  276.2-{  V 

B.O)            /  \  1I5.7I 


100    /..'.//  Dry  Sub- 

stance  nf  Food 

fiippfy- 

g      •". : 


ti6 
0.8 
7:j.8 


10  2 

70.0 


276.2 


0.2 

117.fi 


14.3   65.7^ 


2.4 

16.7 


Ky.1 


13.5 


186 
7.8 


APPENDIX. 


353 


Inflio  ]v^t  edition  of  his  book  on  Manure,  "  Pralitischc  DQnRerlehre," 
Dr.  Einil  Wullf,  >:i%i'S  tlu-  foIlowiuK  tubk-s  : 

of  100  11)6.  of  dry  i^uMaiice  lu  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  cxcre- 
nii'nts  : 


Dbt  Sobstamcs. 


Cow. 


Ox. 


Sluep.     norse. 


Mean. 

6.a    " 
49.4    " 


Toul  dry  Mibrtiance  in  the  Manure. . Ut.I    "J51.4    "jM-5    "  '-JS.C. 

Of  100  lb8.  of  (mjmtu-  rubstanrf  In  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  ex- 
cremcntji : 


Organic  SrBPTAsrE 

In  th'-  DunK... 

Ii 

T 


Ooa. 


Ox. 


Sheep.  I  Uorte.  I  ifean. 
.KiUh».\-»^i  IbB.  II .0  lbs" 


Of  100  lbs.  of  nUror^rn  in  tho  food,  there  is  found  in  the  excrements : 


NlTBOC«H. 


Cow. 


Ox. 


Sheep. 


Horse. 


Mean. 


In  ttir  Dtiii, 
In  thi-  I  rin 


45  .--,  lbs.  .-.1  0  lbs.  43.7  lbs.  5<1.1  lbs.  19.1  lbs. 
1H..3    ••    -is.e   *•     51  .H    '•     27.-3   •'    :M.0    ■ 


T«>Ul  Nitn>g<-n  in  Manure w.s         »»-o         ""-^ 

Of  100  lb.:.  ".."'  ml  »ia/ter  in  the  food,  there  is  found  in  the  excrements  : 


Mineral  M.^tteu. 


C01D. 


Ox. 


70.8  lbs. 
46.7   '• 


1117.5 


Sheep. 

j  (3.2'lbsT 
40.3    " 

10:^.5   " 


norse. 


85.(j  lbs. 
16.3   " 


101.9 


Mean. 

'6S.4  lbs, 
35.1   " 


103.5 


Intl.einnifr fe"? 'V.**- 

In  th.-  rriiM- ivi 

Total  mineral  matter  in  Ma-|  ^^ 

The  excess  of  mineral  matter  is  due  to  the  mineral  matter  in  the 
■water  drank  by  the  animals. 

The  followins  tables  of  analyses  arc  copied  in  full  from  the 
last  edition  (1875),  of  Dr.  Emil  WoltTs  Praktische  Dnngerlehre. 

The  fi-urcs  differ  materially  in  niany  cases  from  those  previously 
nublished  Thev  represent  the  average  results  of  numerous  relia- 
ble analyses,  and  are  sufficiently  accurate  for  all  practical  purposes 
connected  with  the  subject  of  manures.  In  special  cases,  it  wUl  be 
weU  to  consult  actual  analyses  of  the  articles  to  be  used. 


3.-i4 


TALK.S    VS    MAKIKES. 


I.— TABLES   FOK  (.ALdLATlNG   THE  EXIIALSTK^N    AND  EN- 
RICH ING   OF    SOILS. 


A.— HARVEST  PRODUCTS  AND  VAHIOUS  MANIFACTURED  ARTICLES. 

Average  qunntiiy  of  water,  nitro>;en.  and  t<>tal  a.»h,  and  the  different  ingrcdi- 

eiJts  tif  tlie  aeh  iu  lOOU  lbs.  uf  fresh  or  air-drkd  cubetancc. 


Sl-BSTA.NCX. 

.0 

<; 

1 

5" 

V 

1 

e 

I5 

■5; 

1^ 

L-IUr. 

Meadow  Ilnv 

14.1 

IS..-) 

61. ."i 

J.3.S 

2.3 

8.6 

3.3 

4.1 

2.4 

1.3.9 

Kye  (iriiw   

Tiuuxhy 

ll-'l 

Ki.S 

.w.a 

»).i 

2.0 

4.3 

1.3 

6.2 

2.3 

18.5 

14.1 

15.'> 

62.1 

2«».4 

15 

4.5 

1.9 

7.2 

1.8 

22.1 

Moharlisy 

l-^t 

17.a 

.'.HI 

SI.2 

1.2 

6.1 

5.4 

3.4 

2.1 

16.3 

K<  d  Oliver 

ll» 

l.'lO 

1'.».7 
12..'i 

44.1) 

18.3 
'.t.s 

1  2 
1.4 

2ti.O 
15.6 

6.1 

6.8 

h.r, 

4.3 

1.7 
1.3 

1.4 

l{i(l  Cliivcr.  ri|M; 

3.0 

NS  liiic  (lover 

IW 

2:1.2 

5(1.8 

lll.l 

4..'. 

19.3 

6  0 

8.4 

4.9 

8.5 

Al^-ike  Clover 

lUI 

VI. 0 

3'.».7 

11  0 

1.2 

1.'.5 

.'..0 

4  0 

1.6 

1.6 

CriiiiHon  Clover 

If.T 

1  ■.!..') 

50.7 

11  7 

4  3 

Iti.O 

.•1.1 

3.6     1.8 

8.8 

Lurirn 

167 

«3.0 
21.3 

62.1 
45.S 

V,:i 

1.3 
1.5 

S6.2 
Iti.K 

.3.3 
8.0 

5  5    :j.7 
4.6     1.4 

:i.8 

KMuin-ctte 

.{.7 

Yellow  (  lover 

16; 

22.1 

.'i.7 

11  9 

1.3 

82*.     S.l 

4.8     1.0 

1.5 

(ireon  Vetch  Hay 

167 

22.7 

KJ.7 

2S.3 

6.6 

22.8     5.4 

10.7     28 

4.9 

(in  en  IVa  Hay 

167 

28.« 

62.4 

S:i.2  !  9.3 

1.'..6 

6.8 

6.8    5.1 

0.9 

Spurry 

167 

lU.S 

66.8 

UI.9 

4.6 

10.9 

6.9 

8.4 

3.0 

0.8 

II.     C;ilEBM   FODDKR. 

Meadow  Cirasa  in  blixim 

'no 

6.1 

18.1 

4.6 

0.8 

S.0 

1.1 

1.5 

0.8 

4.9 

Youni;  (JraM 

8O1) 

5.f. 

211.7 

11.6 

04 

2.2 

0.6 

2.2 

0.8 

2.1 

Kti'  <  im**'* 

eH 

5  7 
5.4 

211.4 
21.6 

7.8 
7.4 

0.7 
0.6 

1.5 

1.6 

0.4 

0.7 

2  2    <i.8 
2.'>    O.ii 

6.5 

Tiniothv  Cnisa        

iOO 

7.7 

Hye-l'.Klder 

7(iO 

5.8 

16..J 

6.3 

0.1 

1.2 

0..'. 

2.4     0.2 

.V2 

(Jreell   OatJl 

MO 

3.7 

Ib.H 

7.6 

0.6 

1.2 

0.6 

1.7    O.f. 

5.7 

Green  Corn  Fodder 

K-a 

l.'J 

12.0 

43 

0.6 

1.6 

1.4 

13    0.4 

1.7 

Sorrhum 

773 

4.0 

13.0 

3.6 

1.8 

1.2 

0.6 

0.8    0.4 

3.7 

M"liarl;ay  ... 

71 N) 

6.9 

13.'.» 

5.0 

0.3 

1.4 

1.3 

0.8    0.5 

3.9 

Red  I  lover  in  hUi-'-otn 

7S) 

6.1 

i:}.7 

4.4 

0.3 

48 

1.5 

1.4    04 

0.3 

•'    before     ' 

s-0 

5.  .J 

14.5 

5.3 

0.8 

4.S 

1.6 

1.7    0.3 

04 

Whit.'  Clover... 

,'  • 

T>  11 

l.-I.f. 

2.3 

1.0 

4.4 

1.4 

1.9    1.1     0.6 

ANike  Clover  .. 

.'..:t 

K.8 

2.4 

0.8 

3.0 

1.1 

0.9    0.4 

0.4 

Cnin-on  Clover 

~ 

4..I 

122 

2.8 

1.0 

3.8 

0.7 

09    0.3 

2.0 

Liicern 

71  1 

72 

1S.7 

4.6 

0.4 

7.9 

1.0 

1.6     1.1 

1.1 

Ei-iian'ette  

H0;» 

6.1 

12.1 

8.4 

0.4 

4.4 

0.8 

1.2 

0.4  1   1.0 

Yellow  Clover 

sat 

4..% 

M.7 

3.2 

0.8 

8.6 

0.6 

1.1 

0.3  '  0.4 

(Jrecn  Vctrh 

Kail 

SI. 5 
H7() 

5.6 
5.1 
4.6 

IH.l 

1.J9 
12.2 

6.1 
6.1 

4.0 

1.3 

0.5 
04 

4.9 

:i.5 

2.7 

l.S 
1.4 
0.5 

2.3 
1.5 
1.4 

0.6     1.1 

(irern  Peas 

1.1     0  2 

(irecn  Kape 

Spurry 

1.7     0.6 

800 

3.7 

Ui 

4.3 

1.0 

2.3 

1.5 

1.8 

0.4     0.3 

Ill  -Root  Chops. 

1 

Potatoes 

7.V) 

3.4 

9.4 

57 

0.2 

0.2 

0.4 

1.6 

0.6     0.2 

.T.rusrilrni  .\rticlioke... 

s«« 

3.2 

'.t.8 

4.7 

1.0 

0.3 

0.3 

1.4 

0.5     1.0 

Mani.'1'l-wiirzel 

sso 

1.8 

7.5 

4  1 

1.2 

0.3 

0.3 

0.6 

0.2     0.2 

Sl.-i 

1.6 

7.1 

3.9 

0.7 

0  4 

0.5 

0.8 

0.3     0.1 

Tiirnipn 

<wo 

1.8 

7.3 

3  3 

0.7 

0.8 

03 

0.9 

0.8     0.1 

Carrot.-»   

S.V) 

2.2 

7.8 

2.8 

17 

0.9 

0.4 

1.0 

0.5     0.2 

Russia  Turnips 

Succory 

K70 

2.1 

11.6 

4.7 

1.2 

1.8 

03 

1.7 

1.5     0.1 

two 

2.5 

6.7 

2.6 

1.1 

0.5 

0.3 

0.8 

0.5  ,  0.3 

Susrar  Beet,  upper  part 
of  root 

840 

2.0 

9.6 

2.8 

2.3 

0.9 

1.1 

1.3 

0.7 

!o.3 

ArrENPix. 


355 


SuiUTANCe 


IV.— Li AVE*  *  Stihb 
or  K>M)T  Ceoi-s. 

Potato   Vintfi,  nearly 

ri|M- 

Potato  Vinen.  UDrii»e. 
.F.-ru-alcin  Artichoke. 
M.iri_Tl  wiir/.el 

'I'tir    ipH 

("irrots .... 

Suci-ory 

I{ii--i:i  Turnips 
f:il)li,i;,'.-.  white 
(.'ttiili:!;,'!'  Sterna 

V .  —  M  A  N  I-  r  AtTPBED 

PiioiifCT*  A  KEr(7i<ii. 

\Vh    It  Brin 

H>.    llniii      

Ilirl    V  Bntn    .... 

O.u   Hull.. 

I'l-a  Hr.iii 

R||<-li^^hcat  Bran 
Wli.-at  Klojr 
Hv  F  our 
Barl.r  M.-;i!. 
I'orn  Mtul    . 
(irvoii  Malt. 

Dry  Malt     

Brewc-ra  (JraioB 

Bt'er  

Mall  Rpniiit'4 
Potato  Fil>rf 
Potato  Slump 
Sujrar-bcL-i  F'omacc. 
Clarifyin'4  K<-fii-<iv  .. 
Suffnr-bfot  MoIjjx  -a 
M.il:i<!"'*  Slump 

It^iix-  c-ike 

Lin^i'  U  Oil  cak< 
Poppy-cikL- 
Bt-erli  nut-cake 

Wil    Mlt   rak--     .... 

(  ; ■ ake 


!■.  .■•   ... 

VL— {straw 

Winter  Wheat 
Winter  Spelt 
Winter  Rye  . 
Spring  Wheat 
Spring  Rye 

Barlev 

Oats.'. 

Indl.'tn  Corn-stalk 
Buckwheat  Straw 
Pea  Straw 
Field  Bean 
Garden  Bean 
Common  Vetch 


350 


TALKS    ON    MANURES. 


SlTBlTANCE. 


Lupine 

Rape 

Poppy 

Vir.— Chaff. 

Winter  Wheat  ... 
Spring  Wluat... 

Winter  Spelt 

Winter  Kyc 

Barley  Awdh 

Oats 

Indian  Corn-cobs.. 

Field  Beans , 

Lupine , 

Itape 

Flax-seed  hulls.. . 


VIII  -Com  MEKCIAL     ' 

Plams*,  btc.         I 

Flnx  Stems 1 140 

Rotted  Flax  Stems. ...    1(X) 

Flax  Fibre ItK) 

Hemp  Stems l.'iO 

Hops,  entire  plant —    140 

Hops .  ..  lao 

Hop  Stems 1110 

Tobacro  Lenves 180 

Win<'  and  Must 8t'.<i 

Wine  eronnds  liSO 

Cinipe  Stems,  etc STjO 

N  iilberry  Leaves ,  850 

IX.  — Matkrials    fob 

fihDDINO.  I 


■Reed 

Sedue  (}ra!is 

Rush 

Beech  Leaves,  August 

"  ••      Autumn. 

Oak  Leaves,  August.. 

Autumn. 

Fir  Needles 

Pine    "        

M088 

Fern 

Ileath 

Broom 

Sea-Weed 

x.— guains  and 
Seeds. 

Winter  Wheat 

Spring  Wheat 

Spelt,  without  husk... 

Spelt,  with  husk 

Winter  Rye 

Winter  BaVley 

Spring  Barley 

Oats 

Millet 

Indian  Corn 


7.2 
7.5 
5.6 
5.8 
4.8 
6.4 
2.3 
16.8 
7.2 
6.4 


180 
110 
140 

1.-jO 

150 
475 
450  .. 
250  ... 
250 

200  lO.O 
2.V)  ... 
150  1 14.0 


8.0 


8.0 
5.0 


41.4 
40.8 
48.7 


92.5 

121.4 

82.7 

&4.0 

120.0 

71.2 

4.6 

54.5 

18.1 

73.2 

W.7 


30.4 

7.0 

6.8 

3:3.2 

81.4 

66.8 

4(1.7 

151.0 

2.1 

la.'.t 
1:10 

16.3 


36.7 
61.2 
4H.1 
19.0 
58.5 
15.8 
41.7 
18.4 
32.0 
19.2 
50.7 
16.6 
13.6 
122.3 


114  20.8 

16.9 

14.i  20  5 

18.3 

113  2i  0 

14.2 

118   16.0 

:w.6 

143  17  6 

17.0 

1-15  16.0 

17.0 

14:(   16.0 

22.2 

113  r.ii 

27.0 

140  20.3 

Sit.  8 

144  16.0 

13.0 

8.0 
11.1 
18.4 


8.5 
4.8 
7.9 
5.3 
9.4 
4.6 
2.4 
a5.3 
8.7 
11.8 
15.4 


9.4 

0.3 

0.3 

4.6 

20.1 

23.0 

11.4 

3(1.3 

1.3 

6.1 

4.0 

1  3.9 


6.8 
17.7 
19.0 
3.7 
2.3 
5.4 
1.4 
1.0 
0.6 
26 
18.0 
2.1 
4.S 
15.9 


5.3 
5.5 
6.1 
6.7 
5.6 
2.6 
4.5 
44 
3.4 
3.7 


«< 

« 

r?. 

^ 

2.6 

14.8 

3.S 

11.6 

0.6 

14.7 

1.7 

1.8 

1.0 

4.0 

0.2 

2.0 

0  3 

3.5 

l.-J 

Ivi.V 

2.9 

4.0 

0.1 

0.2 

1.3 

6.8 

07 

.3.6 

4.4 

36.3 

3.0 

15.4 

2.5 

6.8 

0.2 

3.6 

0.3 

3.6 

0.7 

20.3 

2.8 

18.1 

1.4 

11.1 

1.7 

12.6 

5.1 

62.8 

0.1 

0.2      2.9 
1.4      4. 
O.S      5.4 


0.2 
4.9 
3.1 

0.4 
0.4 

6.3 
0.3 
0.1 
1.6 
2.1 
1.1 
,  0.3 
1S8.I 


0.4 
0.4 
0.5 
04 
0.3 
07 
0.6 
0.6 
0.4 
0.2 


3.3 
4.2 
3.6 
6.4 

26.4 
4.1 

20.3 
6.1 
4.3 
2.2 
6.2 
3.6 
2.2 

16.7 


3.6 
2.5 
3.1 


1.2 

1.5 
2.1 
12 
1.6 
15 
0.2 
5.9 
1.5 
4,2 
3.3 


2.0 
0.2 
0.3 
2.4 
6.4 
3.7 
2.7 
17.7 
0.1 
0.7 
0.7 
10 


1.1 

2.9 
8.1 
1.4 
3.5 
2.1 
1.7 
1.1 
0.5 
1.1 
3.5 
1.6 
1.6 
10.0 


2.0 
2.2 
1.7 
2.4 
2.1 
2.1 
1.9 
1.9 
2.9 
2.0 


4.0 
0.8 
0.7 
2.3 
7.5 
11.2 
4.4 

4.8 
0.4 
2.5 
1.6 
1.3 


S-3 


0.6 
2.3 
1.3 
0.4 
2.1 
0.4 
1.8 
0.1 
0.6 
1.0 
1.8 
0.7 
0.4 
26.3 


2.1 
2.6 
5.5 


75.1 

105.3 

61.3 

69.2 

86.6 

60.4 

1.3 

0.3 

0.9 

1.0 

5.C 


1.7 
1.3 
0.8 
3.5 
16.4 
11.1 
3.4 
13.5 

6.3 
0.2 
4.1 


20.0 

20.3 
6.8 
3.8 

19.7 
0.7 

12.9 
6.3 

22.6 
5  5 

10.3 
4.9 
1.3 
2.5 


0.1 

0.4 

0,3 

0.3 

0.8 

1.1 

17.1 

0,2 

0.4 

0.5 

4.9 

0.4 

6.1 

0.1 

12.0 

0.1 

15.8 

0.2 

0.2 

APPENDIX. 


357 


SUBSTANCB. 


Sorghum 

Buckwheat 

V  u»  

Field  Bcana 

(iunli-u  Buana 

\  etfli 

Lii|  iiic 

1{.<1  Clover  

While  Clover 

Kei>.r8ettc  

Kuta  baga"* 

Sug;ir-Boet  

CarroU 

Sufcorr 

Tumiim 

Rjipc 

Siumner-llape 

Mu>tard 

Poppy 

Linseed 

Hemp 

(irape-pceds 

llorse-chestnuta,  fresh 
Acorns,  fresh 

XL— Various  Animal 
Products. 

Cows' Milk ^875 

Sheep    ••     S60 

Cheese-.. 450 

Ox  blood T'.W 

Calf-blood 800 

Sheep-blood TyO 

Swine-blood 8tK) 

Ox  flesh T70 

Calf  flesh 7s0 

Swine- flesh 740 

Living  Ox 5!t7 

Living  Calf WW 

Living  Sheep -V-tl 

Living  Swine 5'28 

Ekks  r,--i 

Wool,  washed VM 

Wool,  unwashed '  l.M) 


358 


TALKS    ON    MAXUIJES. 


B.-AVERAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  VARIOUS  MANURES. 


Name  op  Fertiuzeb. 


757  '  211 
838  145 
655  311 
820  150 


noi 

872 
967 


L— Animal  Excre- 
ments. 

(In  100()  parta  of  Ma- 
nure.) 

Fresh  F;ece8: 

Horse 

Cattle 

Sheep  

Swine 

Fresh  Urine: 

Horse 

Cattle ' 

Sheep 

Swill.; 

Fresh   Dunj;  (with 
Btraw :  )* 

Horse I 

Cattle I 

Sli.<ep I 

Swine 

Common     Baru-yard  I 
Manure:  . 

Fresh ' 

Modoratelv  lotd-d . . 

Tliorouijliiy  rottfd.. 
Draina^rc   from    Barn- 
yard Manure 

Human   Kicces,  fresh. 

Urine, 
Mixed   human    cxcre- 

m'^nts.  fri'sh  

Mixed   liuman    excre- 
ments, mostly  liquid 
Hove  Manure,  fresh.. 
Hen  "      .. 

Duck      "  "      .. 

Gteese    "  "     .. 

n.— COMMEItClAL  Ma- 

NfRBS.  I 

(In  100  parts  of  Fer- 
tilizer.) 

Peruvian  Guano 14.8  51.4 

Norway  Fish-Guano..  12.0  53.4 

Poudr.tt'^ 24.0  27,0 

Pulverized  Dead  Ani- 
mals     5.7.56.9 

Flesh-Meal 27.8.")6.6 

Dried  Blood  14  0  70.0 

Horn  Meal  and  Shav- 
ing's     S.5685 

Bone-Meal 6.0.3.}.:^ 


713  254 

775  203 

«i46  318 

TM  250 


710  346 

7.^i0  192 

790  145 

0S->  7 

772  I'.tB 

'.m  24 


31.6 
17.2 
31.1 
30.0 

28.0 
27.4 
45.2 
15.0 


39.6 
21.8 
.35.6 
25.6 


44.1 
5,v0 
650 

10.7 
2<i.!t 
13  5 


4.4  3.5  0  6 
2.!)  10  0  2 
5  5  15  10 
6.0    2.6  2.5 

15.5  15  0  2  5 

5.5  -I  <»  6  4 
lit. 5  22  6  6.4 

4.3   8.3  2  1 


5.8  5  3  10 

3.4  4  0  14 
8  3  6  7  2  2 

4.5  6.0  2  0 


1.2  .3.5  0.6 

1.3  1.7  0.4 
1.5     3.1   1.4 


0.9  1.0;  4.1  0.4 


..  lO  6 
..  1.3 
0.1  3  0 
0.7  0.8 


2.1  1.4  2.8  0.7 

3.1  1.1  I  16  0  6 

3.3  1.8  2.3  1  5 

0.8,0.9  l.'.t  0.8 


4  5 

5.0 

5.8 


5.2  1.5  5.7  1.4 
6.31  1.9  7.0  1.8 
5.0l  1  3    8.8  1.8 


i 

19.6  0  2 
7.2  0  2 
;7.5  0  3 
15  0  0.3 

0.8  1  5 
0  3  3.8 
0  16  5 
..     2.3 


17.7  0  4 
8.5  1.0 

11.7  1.7 

10.8  1.7 


2  1  1.2  12.5,1.5 
2  6  1.6  16.8] 1.9 
3.0  1.3  17.0  1.6 


1.5  4  !•  10  0.3  0.4  0.1  0.7  0.211.2 
10.(1  2  5  1.6  6.2  3.6  10.9  0.8  1.9  0.4 
6.0    2  0,  4  6    0.2  0.2     1.7  0.4     ..     5.0 


933     51     16  0     7.0    2ll3,8    0.9  0.6    2.6  0.5 


055  :w 

510  .3(18 

.')60  25.") 

.566  262 

771  i:J4 


15  0 
173.0 

ia-i.() 

172.0 
95.0 


as. 8 

31.0 
49.0 

37.4 
15.6 
7.0 

25.0 
(Ml.  7 


0.2 


4.0 


3  5    20  4  0     1.0  0.6  2  8  0.4     0.24.3 

17.6  10.0  0  7il6.0  5.0  17  s  3.3  '20  2,  .. 

16.3    8.5   1  0  21.0  7  4  15.4  4.5  .35.2 

10.0    6.2  0.5!l7.0  3  5  14.0  3.5  28.0 

5.5    9.5  1.3    8.4  2.0  6.4  1.4  14.0 


13.0   2.3 
9  0    0.3 

2.0|  0.0 

6.5    0.3 

0.7:  .. 

11.7    0. 

10.2 
3.8    0.2 


14  11.0  1.2'13  0  1.0 
0  9  15  4  0.6  13.5  0  3 
1.0  18.6,0  5    2.1  1.0 


1.7  1.3 
1.6  1.1 
5.4,1  5 


0  8  18.2  0,4  13  0  1,0  1.7  0.2 

..      7.0  0.3  6.3  0.1  1.1     .. 

0.6    0.7  0.1  1.0  0.4  2.1  0.4 

..     6.6  0.3  5.5  0.9  11.0  .. 

0  3  31  S'l  0  23.2  0  1  3.5  0.3 


•  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  case  of  horses,  cattle,  and  swine,  one-third  of  the 
urine  drains  awav.  The  followin<j  is  the  amount  of  wheat-atraw  used  daily  as 
hedding  for  each  "animal.  Horse,  6  lbs. ;  Cattle,  8  lbs. ;  Swine,  4  lbs.,  and  ehcep, 
Q.6  lbs. 


ATPEXDIX. 


359 


1     1   = 

Namb  OF  Kbrtiuzbr.    c    U 

1  =  s 

1 

1 

d 

1 

1 
1 

2; 

4i 

< 

R 

«  . 

e  § 

(In  100  parts.)          Vo    Vo 
Bono  Meal  from  solid 

"Vo" 

Vo 

v7 

Vo 

Vo 

Vo 

v7 

Vo 

Vo 

Vo 

Iiart? i  6.031.5 

63.5 

3.5 

0.1 

0.2 

33  0 

1.0 

25.2 

0.1 

3.0 

0.2 

Boiif  Meal  from  soft         1 

parts' 7.0,37.3 

55.7 

4.0 

Q.i    0.3 

29.0 

1.0 

20.0 

0.1 

3.5 

0.2 

Boni-hlark     before             1 

ns.d 1  6  010  0 

84.0 

1.0 

0.1    0.3 

43  0 

1.1 

■33  0 

0.4 

5.0 

Bon.  -  >l:nk,  fpeut....  10  0    G.O 

84.0 

0.5 

0  1    0.2 

37.0 

1.1 

26.0 

0  4 

15.0 

■■ 

Bone  asli 6.0    3.0 

91.0 

0.:5 

0.6 

46.0 

1.2  •■«.4 

0.4 

fi.5 

Baker  (Juaiio        ....    10  0   0.2 

Sl.O 

6!5 

0  2 

1.2 

41.5 

1.5 

34.  s 

1  5 

0.8 

6!3 

Jarviifi  (jiiano 

11. H   8.2 
0  6.. 

80.0 

0.4 

0.1 
0.7 

0.3 
0.3 

:}!».l 
48.1 

0  5 
0.1 

20.6 
37.6 

18.0 
0.2 

0.5 
9.0 

0.2 

E.-itremadum  .\patite.. 

1.5 

Sombrero  Plmepliatc.    8..')    .. 

9i!5 

o'l 

0.3 

4.3.5 

0  6 

35.0 

0.5 

1.0 

0.6 

Nava.«»a  I'liosphatc...    2.(5    5.4 

92.0 

0.1 

37.5 

0.6 

33.2 

0.5 

5.0 

0.1 

Nassau    Phospborlte,         i 

rich 2.6    .. 

97.4 

,. 

0.8 

0.4 

45.1 

0.2 

33.0 

0.3 

5.5 

3.1 

Nassaa     Phosphorite,         1 

mediani 2.5    .. 

97.5 

,, 

0.7 

0.4 

40.1 

0.2 

24.1 

20.8 

1.5 

Westphalian       Phoa-         | 

phorite 6.5   l.fi 

91.8 

,. 

21.8 

0.9 

10.7 

1.0 

22.0 

1.6 

ITauover  Phosphoritel  2.0   3.5 

94.5 

., 

37.2 

0  2 

29.2 

0.5 

3.3 

1.5 

Coprulites 4.3    .. 

95.7 

iVo 

0.5 

45.4 

1.0 

26.4 

08 

7.5 

0.1 

Sulphate  of  Ammonia.    4.0    .. 

26!o 

.. 

.. 

0.5 

__ 

580 

3.0 

1.4 

Nitnito  of  Soda 2.6    .. 

15  5 

35.0 

0.2 

0.7 

1.5 

1.7 

Wool  dust  and  offal ..  10.0  56.0 

34^0 

5.2 

0  3 

0.1 

1  4 

0.3 

l!3 

0.5 

29  0 

0.2 

Litnocake 6.5  47.0 

46  5 

3  1 

20.5 

2.4 

3.0 

8.0 

Whale-oil  refuse 2:i.0  6s.4 

8.6 

5.7 

. 

3.0 

0  2 

2.3 

3.0 

Common  Salt 15.0    .. 

9.-..0 

44.3 

1.2 

0.2 

iU 

2.0 

18.2 

Gvp.xum  or  Plaster....  20.0    .. 

80.8 

31.0 

0.1 

,  , 

44.0 

4.0 

Gas-lime  7.0    1.3 

91.7 

0  4 

0.'2 

64.5 

1.5 

.. 

12.5 

3.0 

Sujrar-IIouse  Scum... 

34  5^1.5 

41.0 

1.2 

0.2 

0.6 

20.7 

0.3 

1.5 

0.3 

9.1 

6!l 

Leaclied  wood  ashes. . 

20.0    5,(1 

7.-..0 

2.5 

1.3 

24.5 

2.5 

6.0 

0.8 

20.0 

Wood  soot 

5.0  71.8 

2;J  2 

i!3 

2.4 

0.5 

10.0 

1.5 

0.4 

0.3 

4.0 

,^ 

Coal-soot 

5.0  70  2 

24  8 

2.5 

0.1 

4.0 

1.5 

__ 

1.7 

16.0 

^^ 

Ashes  from  Deciduous 

trees 

5.0 

5.0 

90.0 

., 

10.0 

2.5 

30.0 

5.0 

6.5 

1.6 

18.0 

0.3 

Ashes  from  Evergreen 

trees 

5.0    5.0 

90.0 

.. 

6.0 

2.0 

35.0 

6.0 

4.5 

1.6 

18.0 

0.3 

Peat-a<hes 

5.0,   .. 

95.0 

1.5 

0  8 

? 

1.5 

0.6 

1.3 

? 

0.8 

Bituminous  coal-ashes 

5.0    .. 

95.0 

., 

0.5 

0.4 

? 

3.2 

0.2 

8.5 

T 

Anthracite  coal-ashes. 

5.0    5.0 

90.0 

0.1 

0.1 

? 

3.0 

01 

5.0 

? 

•  . 

III.— Stterphos- 

PHATE,  from 

Peruvian  Guano 'l6.0'41.9 

42.1 

10.0 

2.0 

1.2 

0.5 

1.0 

10  5 

15. o' 

1..^. 

1.1 

Bakir(;uano 15.0    6.2 

78.8 

0.3 

0.1 

0.8 

25  0 

0.0 

21.8  28  5 

0.!l 

0.2 

Estriinadura Apatite..  15.0    .. 

85.0 

.. 

0.4 

0.2 

28.2 

0.1 

22.1 

28.5 

5  3    0.9 

Sombrero  Pho-phate.  15.0    .. 

&i.O 

0.5  26  4 

0.4 

20  2 

25.5 

0.6    0.4 

Navassa  Phosphate...  15.0    2.5 
Nassau  Phosphorite,           ! 

82.5 

, 

7     17.0 

0.3 

15  4 

19.5 

2  :i     T 

1         1 

1 

rich 15.0    .. 

85.0 

,_ 

0.5 

0.2  26.5 

0.1 

10.4 

25.5 

3.2    1.8 

Nass-iu  Phosphorite,   |        | 

1 

1 

medium 12.0    .. 

88.0 

0.3 

0.1  24.2 

0.1 

16.6 

19.5 

13.5    1.3 

Bone-black 15.0    8.0 

7T.0 

6' 3 

0.1  25.0 

0  7 

16.2 

21.0 

9.3    .. 

B<ine-Meal 13.0  23.8 

m.-2 

2.0 

o!i 

0.2  22.4 

0.7 

16.6 

19.5 

2.5   0.2 

Phospho-truano             , 

1 

1 

(manufactured.)  ... 

15  5 

13.0 

80.3 

3.3 

0  3 

0.4 

24.0 

20.5 

28.8 

3.0 

0.9 

300 


TALKS    ON    MANTRES. 


-TABLE   SUOWING    THE  DISTRIBUTION   OF  INGREDIENTS 
LN    SOME    MANUFACTURING    PROCESSES. 


Name  of  Material. 


4> 


.33 

360 

9 

30 


i.;j8 

8.74 

2.14 

3.2 
0  56 

(I.2S 
4.04 

14.08 
2.S2 
0.71 

17  61 

12  .32 
4.23 

4  fin 

11.95 


1.— Brewing.  lbs.      lbs. 

1000  lbs.  Barley,  contain 86.5  I  15.3 

IT)     "     Ilo|)3  '■  13.2  j   

Diptribution  of  the  Ingredients:  | 

Water . 

Malt-Sprouts 

Brewers"  Grains 

Spent  Uops 

Yeast 

Beer 

2.— Distillery. 
a.  1000  lbs.  Potatoes,  contain....      2.V) 

40     •■     Ki'u-.Malt 37 

20    "    Yeast-Malt 18  5 

The  Slump,  contains j     125 

(/;.)  (Jrain  S|)irlt.s. 

80<)  lbs.  Hve.  contain   I    681 

200    "    Kiln-Malt,  contain ^     184 

.'iO    "   Ycasl-Malt,       "        '      46 

The  Slump,  "        443 

3.— Yea.«T  MANUFACTtTRB. 

TOO  lbs.  bruised  R ve,  contain 599 

300    •'     B;irl.-y-M:Ilt,         >'         ....  276 
Distribution  of  the  Ingredients : 

Yeast  45 

Grains  and  Slump 325 

4.— StaUCII    M.VNfFACTURB.        I  I 

1000  lbs.  Potatoes,  c<)nt.ain 250     3.20 

The  remains  in  the  Fibre 75     O.fiO 

Water 45     2.60 

5.— Milling.  |  ' 

1000  lbs.  Wheat,  c^ntain 

Distribution  of  the  Iiiirrcdicnts: 

Flour  i77.5  per  cent) 

Mill-feed  (6.5        "        ) 

Bran  (IC.O        "        ) 

6.— Cheese-Making. 
1000  Ihs.  Milk,  contain 

Distribution  of  the  luirredients : 

Cheese 65 

Whey 60 

7.— Beet-Sioar   Mantjfactcrb. 
1000  Ihs.  Roots,  contain 

Distrlbutionof  the  Infrredients: 
Tops   and   Tails   il2  per  cent  of 

roots) 19 

Pomace  (15  per  cent  of  roots) 46 

Sklmminsis  (4  per  cent  of  roots)..        24 

Molasses  (3  per  cent  of  roots) 25 

Sugar  and  loss 85 

8.— Fi.ax  Dkessino. 
1000  lbs.  Flax  Stalks,  contain...      860 

Distribution  of  the  Ingredients : 

In  the  Water 215 

Stems  or  Husks 460 

Flax  and  Tow 155 


lbs    i   lbs.      lbs 
22  23     4.48     0.58 
1.00    0.345   0.167 


1  23 

2  l.J 
13. (W 

0.5» 

2  27 

,  3.65 


lbs. 
1.92 
0.056 


0  852  0.039  0.0-15 
0.749  I  0.069  0.0m\ 
O.SHOl  1.474  1.134 
0.02:j  O.ltiO  0.055 
0.(>4;j  I  0.097  0.185 
1.998 1    ....   ,0.484 


9.43  5.69   !0.24   '0.44 

1.06  O.mj'O  040   0.088 

O..^;}  0.092    0  020   0.(M4 

11.02  5  966:0.30010.572 


14.. 32  4. 501 
5  12  0  H8:i 
1  28    0  221 


lbs. 
7.71 
0.168 

0  2.34 

0  6.5.3 
3  6.31 
0.062 

1  »I9 
0.939 

1.63 
0.:«8 
OHM 
2.212 


0.:J76  1  M8  6  710 
0  195  0.429]  1.526 
0.049   0.1071  0.;«2 


20.72  ,  5  tK)5    O.fBO    2.184    8  618 


12.53 
7.67 


'  3.41 
16.79 


3.911 
1  .325 


0.329    1  m 
0.293    0  64.3 


5.876 
2.801 


1  273    0.192    0.367    2.672 
3.9'.t3   0.430    1  720  1  6.005 


9  13  '  5  69 
0.51     0  086 
8.89     5  604 


857    20.80  '16.88 


664  14.65 
58  1.64 
135     4.51 


5. 50 
1  81 
9.60 


5.36 

1.980 
0.f>48 
2.6r.4 


125     4.80     6.10     1..505 


4..>3 
0.27 


2.84     0.247 
3.26     1.2JS8 


184  I  1.60     7.10    3.914 


0^ 
0.44 
O.liO 
0.32 


1.15 
1.71 
1.20 
2.47 
0.57 


0.24     0.44    11  63 
0.266   0  1)42:0.13.3 
...     1  0.398    1.497 


0.57   '  2.02 


i.94 


0  154  0.4,58  2.862 
0  0.50  0.118  0.936 
0.3%    1.394    4.102 


1.3:}3  0.186 

0.687   0.028 
0.646   0.158 


0.379   0.536 


1.735 


1.151 
0.584 


0.780 


0..3.36  0  108  0.132  0.144 
0.5-<5  0  .390  0  105  0.165 
0.:}H0   8.610   0  210   0  -.iM 


1.741    0.141    O.OtV.i 
0.872     ....     0.(M0 


0  015 
0.072 


3  990 


30.36    9.426   6.751    1.995 


125  15  9.175  4.100  1  R,-.0  3  400 
4  0:5  0  171  2(1.52  0aMi|0.474 
1.22  ,(l.05»    0  148    0a>ll0.126 


II 


INDEX. 


Abwirptivo  Power?  of  Soils "^l? 

Ammoni.i  Abwirbi'd   by  Soil   from 

till-  Alnl<)^*phl■rc        ".r.^ 

Auiiiinuia  and  Siiperpbospliatc 2)2 

and  \Vc<ds '^54 

'•         Converted     Into     Nitric 

Aci<l  in  tbe  Soil 313 

"        f"irl>at8 -jsa-aoi 

"         fur  Potaioea — 2(il 

for  Wb>at 19J--.'13 

"         in  Fresh  llorse-dung: 'M 

'•         in   Limed  and   I'nlimed 

Soiln  -220 

"         in  the  Soil  Liberated  bj- 

Limp 2-21 

"         Locked  I  p  in  the  Soil... 221 
*•         Loss  of  by   FcrinentinE; 

Manure ..08 

"         on  (Jni-s  Lund  273 

"  Potential 31 

"         (Quantity  of  to  Produce 
One  Bushel  of  Wheat, 

211-212 
'*        Required   to    Produce  a 

Bushel  of  Bail.-r.. 240-2 12 

"         Retained  by  the  Soil 218 

*'         Salts,  Composition  of....3ri 
"  "       IIow    to    Applv, 

a*-312 
"             "      for   Private  Gar- 
dens    207 

Anderson.  J.  M.  B..  Letter  from. . .  U'l 
Animals,  Compositiim   of   Manure 

from  Diflorent 306 

*'         What  They  Kemove  from 

thi' Food .301 

Apple  Trees.  Nitrate  of  Soda  for... 314 
Artificial  Manures,  Will  They  Pay..214 

Ashes,  Burnt  Earth 72 

Coal 72 

*'      for  Barley 241 

"       for  Indian  Corn 279 

*'       for  Oats 2.")3 

"       for  Potjuoes 2.")9 

"       of  Manure  for  Wheat 173 

"       on  Long  Island 346 

"       Plaster  and  lien-dung    for 

Potatoes 255 

"      Wood  1(H 

Barley  After  Ten  Crops  of  Turnips. i^O 

*'      a  Lar^e  Yield  of 5M2 

"      and  Clover  after  a   heavily- 
manured  Root-crop 1.287 

"      Best  Soil  for 227 

"      Cost  of   Raising   With  and 

Without  Manure 245 

361 


Barley,La\ves'  and  Gilbert's  E.Tperi- 

ments  on 227 

"       Potash  Incp-ases  the  Crop  of 

at  Kothiiinsted  329 

"      Proflts  of  Raising  in  Poi-r 

Seasons 243 

"      Quality  and  Price  of 212 

"      \  ield  Per  Acre 11 

Barn-yard    Manure,    Difference   in 

l^uality  of 246 

Bi'an-straw  for  Manure 48 

Beets,  Sugar,  Lawes'  and  (iilberfs 

Kxperiments  on... 288 

"  Manure  for 28(j 

Blood .32 

B<»ne-du8t 314 

"  Composition  of  Com- 
pared with  Stable  Ma- 
nure  316 

"    Firinented  with  Manurc.316 
Made     into     SuperpUos- 

I'hate 319 

"        "    on  Dairy  Farm.s 315 

Bones  as  Manure 102 

Bran 26 

for  Manure 102 

"     Richer    in    Plant-food    than 

Wheat .301 

Brewer,  Prof.  W.  II.,  Letter  from.. 341 
Cabbage    and    Barn-yaid    Manure, 

Composition  of 292 

"  Composition  of 290-292 

"  Hog  and  Cow  Manure  for.302 

"  Lime  for 292 

"  !Manure  for 275-290 

"         Manure    for    Early   and 

Late 291 

"  Needs  a  Large  Supply  (  f 
Nitrogen  in  the  Soil, 
Though     it    Removes 

butLi'.tlc 293 

"  Potash  for 292 

Special  Manun- for 323 

"  Yield  of  per  Acre 291 

Cattle  vs.  Sheep  as  Manure-makers. .303 

Cheese,  from  a  Ton  of  Hay Ill 

Plant-food  in 101 

"       versus  Beef 110 

Clay  Retains  Ammonia 219 

Clover  and  Indian  Corn 275 

"      as   a    R(movating   and  Ex- 

hansti  ng  Crop 277 

"      as  Manure 11^122 

"      as  Manure  for  Wheat 158 

"      Does  it  Get  Nitrogen  from 

the  Atmosphere 133-138 


362 


INDEX. 


^^over,  Dr.  Voelcker's  Experiments 

on 135 

"      for  Wheat 12(j 

"      Gathers  Up  Manure  from  tlie 

Sub-soil 287 

"      Hay,  Composition  of 129-137 

"      Hay,  English  and  German, 

for  Manure 47 

"      How  to  Make  a  Farm  Rich 

by  (irowing 133-1&3 

"      Letting  it  Hot  on   the  Sur- 
face as  Manure 134 

"      Nitrogen  as  a  Manure  for. ..141 
"      Pasturing   by  Sheep  versus 

Mowing  for  Uay 137 

"      Plowing  I'nder  versus  Feed- 
ing Out 123 

"      Roots,  Amount  of  per  Acre, 

143-144-1.55 
"  Roots,  Composition  of..l4.")-147 
"      Seed,  Amount  of  Roots  i)er 

Acre 162 

"      Water  Evaporated  bv 132 

"      Why  it  Enriches  Laiid 131 

Coal-a'^hes  to  Mix  with   Artificial 

Manures 312 

Composting      Cow-manure      with 

Muck.  Leaves,  etc 302* 

Compost    of    Stable-manure    and 

Earth 342 

Corn,  as  a  Renovating  Crop 27.5 

"      Aslies  for  ... 2T'.l 

"      Barn->-'ard  Manure  for 2H4 

"     Cost  of  Raising 9 

"      Crop,  Composition  of 25 

"      E.xperiments  on 279 

"      Guano  for 279---2S4 

"      Manure  for  275 

"      Meal  for  Manure 185 

"      Superpliosphate  for 279-281 

'*      Fodder 273 

"  "     vs.  Mangel- wurzels.  ..2S8 

"  "     Plasterer 277 

"  "     vs.  Wheat,  Yield  per 

acre -...  276 

Crops  Best  to  Ap|)ly  Manure  to 2i;5 

'•     Flow  to  Get  Larger 28-36 

"      Raised    and  Sold   from    tlie 

Farm 27 

"     Rotation  of 116-108 

"     We  Must  Raise  Larger  per 

Acre 266 

"     Why  so  Poor 28 

Cotton-se<'d  Cjke 4;^339 

Cow-manure 8()-100 

"  "        and  How  to  Use  it. . .  .302 

"  "        Compositiou  of 3 '6 

Cows,  Feeding  Grain  to 110-113 

'•     Feeding  in  Winter  for  Ma- 
nure  256 

Dairy  Farms,  Bone-dust  on 315 

Drainage  from  Barn-vard 3116 

Dry  Earth  for  Pig  Pens 304 

Earth-closet  Manure 310 

"         "  "        on  Grass 225 

Fallow.Fall 12 

"      for    Wheat,    How    to  — Mr. 

Luwes'  Experiments 35 

"     Summer,  for  Wheat 15-34 


Farm  Dairy,  Receipts  and  Expenses 

of 109 

"     Hon.  George  Geddes' 119 

"      Hon.  Joseph  Shull's 109 

"     John  Johnston's  76-81-120 

"     Mr.  Dewey's 39 

"     Mr.  Joseph  O.  Sheldon's 15 

"     to  Restore  a  Worn  Out 37 

Farming,  a  Poor  Business 9 

'•         Diflerence  Between  High 

and  Good  11 

"         Faith  in  Good 14 

'*         Good  Does  Not  Lead  to 

Overproduction 14 

"         Slow  Work 17 

Fermenting  Manure  to  Kill  Weed- 
Seeds .  97 

Fish  as  Manure 347 

Food,  Nothing  Added  to  it  by  the 

Animal 42 

Gardens,  IManure  for  Private 296 

Geddes,  Hon.  George 17-117 

Grains,  Malt.  English  and  German.  47 

Grass  a  Saving's  Bank        41 

"     Importance  of  Rich 113 

"     Manure  for 120 

Guano  as  a  Top-dressing 'or  Wheat. 270 

for  Barley 240 

"      forOats 253 

"      for  Peas 17 

"      for  Potatoes 255-258 

"      on  Wheat 120-180-184 

"       Peruvian,  Composition  of.. 311 

"  *'  for  Oniuns 2;M 

'^             "           Price  and  Compo 
sition  of   Now 
and:M)Y"rsAgo.327 
"             "          Rectified  for  Tur- 
nips  286 

What  it  is 311 

Gypsum 104-116-126 

forOats 254 

"        for  Peas 17 

"        for  Potatoes 255-2.59 

ITnrison,  T.  L.,  Letter  from 115 

Uay,  Best  Manure  for 2;4 

"     Plant-food  in 101 

Hi-acock,  Joseph.  Letter  from 348 

Henderson.  Peter,  Letter  from 344 

Hen  Manure 43-104-301 

"  "      for  Potatoes 255 

nigh  Farming 12 

"  ■'        versus  Good  Farming  11 

Fops,  Manure  for 274 

Horse-manure,  Compositiou  of.  . .  .306 

Hot-beds.  Manure  for 297 

Human  E.xcrements,   Composition 

of 308 

Indian  Corn.     See  Corn 

Irrigation  on  Market  Gardens 295 

Jessup,  Edward,  Letter  from 342 

Johnsim,  Prof.  S.  W.,  on  the  Value 

of  Fertilizers 324 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 

on  Barley 22"? 

Lawes'  and  Gilbert's  Experiments 

on  Oats 252 

Lawes"  and  Ciilbert's  Experiments 
on  Permanent  Meadows 271 


INDEX. 


303 


Lawcs'  and  fiilbert's  Exporiments 
oil    the   Amount  of   Excremeuls 

Void.d  by  Man :«)9 

Lawi's'  and  Gilbert's  Exi»erinifUts 
on  Sugar  bcfts  and  Mangel-wur- 

zds 288 

Lawes'  and  Uilben's  Kxpcriincnts 

on  Wheat 170 

Lawes"  and  Gilbert's  Experiments, 

Potash  Beneficial  for  Barley 329 

Lawes'   Table,    Showing  Composi- 
tion and  Value  of  Foods 45 

Lettuce.  Manure  for 2H9 

Superphosphate  for. . .  21K)-293 

Lewis,  lion.  Harris,  Letter  from 10:3 

Liebig's  Special  Manures 321 

Lime  as  Manure 213 

•'      Beneficial  Effect  of  for  Thirty 

Years 210 

"     Changes    the    Chemical    and 
Physical   Character  of    the 

Soil 224 

"     Composting  with  Old  Soda... 224 

"     for  Cabbage 292 

"     Hastens  the  Maturity  of  the 

Crop  22*2 

"     Impoverishes  the  Soil 222 

"      in  Connecticut 224 

"     in  Delaware 223 

"     in  New  Jer-ey ..223 

"      in  Pennsylvania 224 

"     Mixed    with    Barn-yard   Ma- 
nure  222 

"     on  Grass  Land "223 

"      on  Limestone  Land 217 

"      C^uantity  pet  Acre 21G 

"     Sets  Free  Ammonia    in    the 

Soil 221 

"     Silicate    Absorbs     Ammonia 

from  Atmosphere 219 

"     When  to  App! v 22:i 

"     Why  Beneficia'l -220 

Liquid  Manure 3Ui) 

Lowland.  Draining 30 

Malt-combs 46 

Maugel-wurzels  for  Manure 48 

Manure  forl0:j-28tt-283 

"  "       Yield  per  Acre 11 

Manure  Absorbing  Liquid 115 

'•       Amount    from    Feed    and 

Bedding  73 

♦'       Amount  Made  by  a  Horse 

50-346 
"  "         Made  by   Horses, 

Cows,  Sheep,  aiid  Pigs. . .  .'il 
"       Amount  Made  on  a  25(Vacre 

Farm •^',^ 

"       Amount  of  Rain  Required 

to  Dissolve 267 

"       Amount  of  Straw  in  Horse. 346 

"       and  Rotati' n  of  Crops 246 

*'       Applying  Artificial 312 

"       Applying  Near  the  Surface. 267 
"       Applying  on  the  Surface... 173 

"       as  Top-dressing 2(19 

"       Barn-yard  for  Barley 2^10 

"       Barn-yard  vs.  Artificial  for 

Indian  Corn 284 

"      Basinfor 92 


Manure  Best  for  llav 27^ 

Bone-dust.: al4-31t; 

"       Brings  in  Red  Clover S'^i 

Buying 306 

Buying     by     Measure     or 

\Veight 305 

"       Baying  by  the  Load  or  Ton. 306 

Cellar. 114 

'•       Cheapest  a  Farmer  Can  U9e.l27 

Clover  as 11!»-I22 

"       Clover-seed  as 127 

"       Comes  from  the  Land 42 

"       Common  Saltas ...2<X) 

"       Composition  of  Fresh  Barn- 
yard    51 

"       Composition  of  from  Dif- 
ferent Animals 306 

"       Conipositiim    of    Heap   at 

Ditft  rent  Periods 57 

"       Corn-meal  for 185 

Cost  of  Hauling 342 

"       Cost  of  Loading  and  Draw- 
ing   ''■7 

Cow 87-100 

"       Dairy-farm,   How  to    Save 

and  Apply 114 

"       Dr.  Valcker's  Experiments 

on 51 

Drawing  Out  to  the  Field..  89 
"       English  Plan  of  Keeping. ..  69 

"        Equivalent  to  Water 2!)6 

"       Farm  yard  for  Potatoes  . .  .261 

'•       Fermenting'  in  \\inti'r.H,>-92-93 

Fernieniiiiir,  Shrinkage  in. .116 

Fire-fang. '. 84-98 

'•       Fish.  as,"on  Long  Island. .  347 

■'       Foods  which  Make  Rich 45 

'■       for      Cabbage,      Parsnips, 
Onions,  Carrots,  Lettuce, 

etc 289 

"       for  Corn 80 

f..r Grass 82 

"       for  Hops 274 

for  Hot  beds 297 

"       for  Indian  Corn 275 

"        for     Mangel-wurzels     and 

Sugar-beets 287 

"        for  Market  Gardens 294 

for  Oats 252 

"       for  Potatoes 255 

"       for  Seed-growing  Farms. .  .296 
"       for    Sorghum    or   Chinese 

Sugar-cane 283 

"       for  Tobacco 275 

for  Turnips 285-322 

"       lor  Wheat 167 

fromCows 302 

'■       from  Earth-closet 310 

"       from  Oxen     303 

"       from  Pigs.  Mr.  La\¥e8'  Ex- 
periments...  .  301 

"       from  Sheep 303 

"       Grain  Farms,  Management 

of 117 

"       Guano,  Price  of  Kow  and 

Thirty  Years  Ago 328 

"       Guano.  Rectified  Peruvian. 319 

I         "       Gypsum  and  Clover  as 125 

'        "       Heap,  Changes  iu 67 


304 


INDEX. 


Manarc  Ilcap,  Fcrmcntinjj 38 

"      in  Winter 84 

"       Piling  ill  Fic!d..88-&'.M»0 

"      Turning 88 

Hen 43-104-SOl 

"       Horse        32-8!> 

"       Ilorse  and  Farm-yard 50 

'•       Dow  and  When  it  Should 

be  Applied 207 

*'       How  John  Johnston  Man- 
ages it 76 

"       Flow  Made    and    Used    in 

Maryland 349 

"       Ilort'  the  Deacon  Makes  it..  74 

"       How  ti)  Make 41 

"       How  to  Mike  More 2JG 

"       How  to  .Make  More  and  Bet- 
ter on  Dairy  Farms Iftj 

"       How  to  Make  Poor,  Ricli, 

271  2a3 

"       How  to  Makp  Richer 25T 

"       How  Much   it   Shrinks  by 

Fermentation 342 

"       How  Much    Nitrogen  in  a 

Loadof  30T 

"       in  Kansa.-* 340 

'•       in    Philad<'lphia,    Interest- 
ing Fact.-* .^3<^ 

'•       Keeping  Under  Cover 5!» 

"       Lime  lu* S15 

Liquid -..    ..  3)6 

"       Management  of  in  Canada. 335 
"       Mr.     Lawes"     Experiments 

with 9.5 

"       Loss  fri>m  Leaching it!) 

"       Manuuement  of 94 

"       Marl<et  Value  of 104 

"       Mixed  with  Lime 22i 

"       Natural 23 

Nii^lit  soil  as .30S 

"       Nitrateof  Soda  as 131 

"       Not  Available 95 

"       on  Dairy  Farm 101 

"       on     Permanent     Mejidows 

and  Pastures 271 

"       Preserved  by  the  Soil 177 

"       Pis*" 8« 

"       Piling no 

"       Potjish  as 3^9 

"        Price  of  in  Boston 3  >4 

"  •'       "      Marvland 33.1 

"  "       "      New  Haven.... 3 11 

"  "       "     New  York 3)4 

"  "     per    Horse    in    New 

»c)rk  336 

"       Quantity  Made  on  a  Farm..  12 
"       Quantity  of  Used  on  Lung 
Island.     Interesting  Sta- 
tistics  sm 

"       Roductjd  by  Fermentation. 2i>7 
"       Richer  in  Plant-food  than 
the  Food  from  which  it  is 

Derived 301 

"       Sea-weed  as 3-37 

"       Sheep H6 

'■       Should  be  Broken  Up  Fine. 268 

"       Soluble  Phoephates  in 72 

"       Special 110-320 


Manure,  Specific   Gravity  of  from 

Different  .\niinal!- 305 

"       Spread  in  Oi)en  Yard 63 

"        Stable,  Management .332 

Straw  and  Cnaff  as 200 

"       Superphosphate,  How 

Made 317 

"       Swamp-Muck  as 29 

Tank 115 

"       the  Author's  Plan  of  Man- 
aging   R3 

Tillage  us 32-121-225 

■'       Top-dressing  for  Wheat  in 

Kansas 3.')0 

"  "  "        on    (irowing 

Crops 343 

"       to 'WTiat  Crops  Should  it  be 

Applied 265 

Value  of 78 

Value  of  Depends  on   the 
Food,  Not  o.i  tlie  Animal.  43 

Value  of  Straw  as 12;3 

Water  in 124 

"       Weeds  as 24 

"        M'eijjht  of .'Vti-.-JSO 

"       Well-rotted,    Composition 

of 65 

"       Well-rotted.     Loss      from 

Leaching 65 

"       Wliatisitl'  19-22 

"        Why  Do  We  Ferment? 94 

Market  Gardens,  Irrigitiim  in 295 

•'  "  Manure  fur 294 

"  "         Piij-manure  on..  295 

Meadows.  ;Manurc  for  271 

Ni-ht  soil   225-308 

Nitrate  of  Pota.-h 312 

Nitrate  of  Soda 1*4 

"    Acts  Quicker   tliau 

Ammonia  .'il-'J 

"  "    as    a    Top-dressing 

for  Wheat 270 

"  "    Composition  of 312 

"  "    for  Apple  Trees 314 

"    for  Barley 243 

"    for  Oats 2.52 

"    for  Onions 294 

"  "for  Su  gar-Beets 289 

"    for  Wheat 159 

•'  "    How  to  Apply 312 

Nitric  Acid 341 

Nitrogen,  Amount  per  Acre  In  the 

Soil 28-162 

"         as  Manure 28 

in  Soils 10«!-226-:«6-341 

"         Makes      Poor      Manure 

Rich 246 

Nnrsernnon,  Manure  for 297 

nais.  Experiments  on  in  Virginia.. 2,53 
Experiments  on  at  ftlorcton 

Farm 254 

'■      Lawes"  and  Gilbert's  Experi- 
ments on 252 

'•      Manures  for 2,52 

Oil  cake  for  Sheep 76 

Onions.  Manure  for 294 

Peas  for  Pigs 17 

Pea-straw  for  Manure 48 


INDEX. 


;}(;:) 


P«^at,  Composition  of 31 

Phu8pliutu» 27 

"  £xl)nu:<ti(>u  of  on  Dairy 

Farms 101 

"  Soluble    in    Barn-yard 

Manure 72 

PhoPiilioric  Acid  in  Soils 10«-2ae 

per  Acre  in  Soils.  Iti2 
"  "     liitaiued    by   the 

Soil 219 

"  "    Renii  ved  from  the 

Farmbv  Ilay,  and  by  Milch  Co\vs.316 

Pig  Maniiru 4»-86 

Composition  of 30<i 

"        "         for  Cabbage 302 

Pigs  as  Manure-Makers  for  Market 

Gardeners 2!I5 

Pigs'  Bedding 31 

•^   for  Euriehing  Pasture- Land . .  ..Wl 
"    How  to  Save  Manure  from.    .  ..'i>4 

"    Manure  from '-iOl-'-'JOi 

Piling  Manure _ !i7 

I'lunt-food 21-105 

Amount  of  in  an  Acre. 24-^ 
"       "     in  New  and  Cultivated 

Land 39 

Plaster  for  Indian  Corn 277 

Plowii'g  in  the  Fall 17 

Potash,  Amount  of  in  the  Soil    2>-329 

■'       as  Manure 3-J9 

•*       as  Manure  for  Wheat 215 

"       for  Cabbages 292 

"       forPotatoes 255-260 

"      for    Putalous  and     Root- 

C,>->ps  330 

"       How  to  Ascertain  when  the 

Soil  Needs *M 

"       in  Nitrate  of  Potash 314 

"       Not  a  Special  Manure  for 

Turnips :fi2 

"       on  Grass  Land 273 

"  our  Soils  not  so  likely  to  be 
Deficient  in,  as  of  Nitro- 
gen and  Phosphoric  Acid.330 

"       Retained  by  the  Soil 219 

"  Value  of  in  Artificial  Ma- 
nures  326 

Potatoes,  after  Root-Crops 287 

'•        Ammonia  for 261 

Cost  of  Reusing 10 

"        Experiments  on  at  More- 
ton  Farm 259 

"        for  Manure  48 

"        How   to   Raise   a  Large 

Crop 255 

"        Manures  for 255 

"        Mr.  Hunter's  Erperiments 

on  in  England 260 

*'         on  Ricl)  Land 263 

"        Pi-oflts  of  Using  Artificial 

Manures  on 263 

"        Will  Manure  Injure  Qual 

ityof 264 

Bape-cake  46 

"        '■    as  Manure  for  Hops 274 

Roots.  Amount  of  Left  in  Soil  by 

Diffi-rent  Crops 164 

Root-crops 17 

Rotation  of  Crops  and  Manures 246 


Ruslimore,  J.  II.,  Letter  from 345 

Ri.utzahn.  H.  L..  Letter  from 349 

Salt  as  a  Manure  for  Wheat 270 

■'    Common  as  Manure  for  Wheat. 200 

"    for  Mangel-wurzels 104 

Saw-dust  for  Bedding 103 

Season,  a  Poor.  Proil  table  for  Good 

Farmers 213 

"        and  Manure  for  Oats 253 

Inlluence  of  on  the  Growth 

of  Wheat 210 

"       Profit  in  Raising  Oats  in  a 

Poor  253 

"       Profit  in  liaising  Barley  in 

a  Poor 243 

Seasons.  Inlluence  on  Crops •...  21 

Seed  Growers,  Manures  for 290 

Sewage 308 

Sheep-Manure 303-33.J-;i39 

Composition  of ;MG 

"      vs.  Oxen  as  Manure  Makers. 303 
S!ielton.  Prof.  E.  M..  Letter  from.. 350 

Soil,  Composition  of 144-150 

••      Exhau.-tion  of 2.3-27-:W2 

from  Earth-closet 225 

■     Nitrogen  and  Phosphoric  Acid 

in  226 

"      Plant-food  in 105 

"      Weight  of  per  Acie 221 

Soils  Ab.-orb  Ammonia  from  Atmos- 
phere  219 

"      Absorptive  Powers  of  ..  217 

Sorghum,  Manures  for 28;J 

Special  Manures  320 

Straw 26 

Amount  of  Manure  from 124 

"     and  Ohafl'  for  Manure 200 

'     for  Manures 48 

"     on  Ciraiu  Farms 118 

"     Selling 123 

Sturtevant.  Dr.  E.  L.,  Letter  from  344 

Superphosphate 116 

for  Barley 241 

"  for  Indian  Corn.   .279 

"  for  Potatoes 259 

"  for    Private    Gar 

dens 296 

for  Turnips.   .2a5-;i22 

"  forWlieat 168-169 

"  from  Bones,  Com- 

position of.. .   .  319 
"  from     Mineral 

Phosphates...     320 

How  Applied...     320 

"  on  Dairy  Farms  .  315 

'•  on  Grass  Land  ..273 

"  Value  of  as  Com 

pared  with  Bone- 

Dust 319 

"  What    Crops   Best 

for 243 

Superphospatc    of    Lime     Doctor 

Telle  How  it    is  Made 317 

Superphosphate    of     Lime,   When 

First  Made  in  the  United  States  324 
Surface  Application  of  Manure.  .Tfr  268 

Swamp-muck 29 

"     Composition  of 31 

Swine,  see  Pigs 


366 


IXPET. 


Tliomas.  J.  ,T..  Tiotnarko  on  tho  Aiv 
pliiatioii  (,f  Maiiun  ^<..  xoo 

Tillii-f  IS  M„i,i,rr aJ-i-ii  i63-i» 

J  ohaou.  Maiiiiri"  for. . .  275 

Top  (Irrssiiii;  Hill,  Munur'f .'..'.' -Jb') 

J  urnipH,  Do'Th.v  Midori)  Nitn.i^eii    ' 
fruiii  the  Atm<>«|)|i,Tr.   .ilt) 
luiiM.v.  rish  th..-  tjoil  More 

tliuu  (iiuiu 250 

"         Manure  for !.      8h5 

and   Wheat.   Special  Ma 

nnrof>  for..   321 

Urim-  from   Fami  AnimalB  RJchc-r 

than  Human gpg 

vif.  S<ilid  Manure..    ". «►! 

\aluation  of  FirtllizcrH  341 

VNai.r.  .\n)ouiit  (JivenOff  hv  I'Jantu 

iMirimr  Th.lr  lin.uth...  '  131 

W.it.r  K(juival.iit  to  Mannre.. .' "  aw 

u'"  I       •.    <     V. 1.^-11-189 

«  icd-Hccdr' ill  .Manure.   .  ir, 

w.hl.  c.i.  M.  r.  L.ttorfrom.;.."  3U 

•Vhi-at,  .\miiionia  for jjU 

"  Arilllcial  Miintin-n  fi,r 
Should  l).-I)rillrd  in  with 
8««d IfW  168 


Whoat,  Common  Salt  a?  Manure  for  200 
tn>p,  Compoeition  of..a6  120- 

•  Pff    .    ,«  .      1"»-3J0 
r.n<ct  of  Manure  on.  in  Poor 

Season 213 

'I      Intluciici-  of  Sc-ason  on..!.  210 
If*  it  Deteriorating*. ..  igj) 

•  jjtrger  Cn >px  i.rr  Acre . . .'   '  i-*> 
Law  es' and  <;ilbert  ^  Exper- 
iment., on MO-17l)-.a3 

-Munureh  for njj 

!      ».'.''  '•''"»'"   K3y>erimentoon.l22 
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II       I'lanr-fiMKl  in joi 

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Straw  and  Cliair  a.-<  a  Manure 

..     ^.  '■"■      ; am 

Siimiiier  Fallowinp  for.  ..tfi-ies 

■■      til.-  -iiiti,  Croii  on  Same  Land.^l.j 

To|»-<lri»»ing  for  -/to 

**,.,   .r""'-      (>>ni|.aratlve 

1  ield  of 27g 

W.II  niite.l  Manure  for       '267 

'.*       ^Vli.\t»iirt  rop,  nie.m,  Poor  -.^14 

1  leld  jMT  Acre \i 


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